Walk into almost any small business today and you’ll find staff quietly using AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Claude to make their work faster and easier. They’re summarising emails, drafting content, building reports, and solving problems faster than ever before – often using free tools. And honestly, that’s fantastic. It shows initiative, innovation, and a drive to be more productive. But there’s a problem emerging that many business leaders haven’t quite solved yet.

Productivity vs. Protection

When staff start using public AI tools, there’s always a chance that sensitive information – client data, internal reports, strategy documents – ends up being entered into a system that the business doesn’t control. That data could, in some cases, be used to train future AI models. Even if the risk feels small, the responsibility for protecting that data ultimately falls on the business owner or leader.

Here’s the reality: when the product is free, you are the product. It’s the same principle we’ve learned with social media – free tools often monetise through data collection and usage. Free AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and others may use your inputs to improve their models, which means your business information could be feeding someone else’s competitive advantage.

Beyond data protection, there are other considerations: AI can produce inaccurate information, inherit biases from its training data, and create over-reliance if staff stop critically reviewing outputs. These risks don’t mean avoiding AI – they mean using it thoughtfully and with appropriate guardrails.

So how do you strike the balance between encouraging innovation and protecting your business?

The Leadership Dilemma

Leaders have two clear paths when it comes to managing AI in their business:

1. Provide a paid, secure AI platform

This might mean rolling out something like ChatGPT Team, Claude for Work, or Microsoft 365 Copilot (the paid version). These paid platforms allow your team to keep using AI with confidence, ensuring your business data is not used to train external models. You get governance and oversight, while still giving your team access to cutting-edge tools.

Of course, there’s a cost involved – but it’s the cost of safety and control together with increased usage limits.

2. Leverage what you already have – Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat

For businesses still finding their feet with AI strategy, Microsoft has quietly provided a great starting point. If your business already uses Microsoft 365 (E3, E5, Business Standard, or Business Premium), your team now has access to Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat at no additional cost.

This free chat experience provides:

• Secure AI chat powered by GPT-4o, grounded in web search
• Enterprise data protection – your chat data isn’t saved or used to train AI models
• The ability to upload files for analysis and summarisation
• Access through the Microsoft 365 Copilot app or directly at m365copilot.com

This gives your team a safe, secure way to explore AI – without paying for another platform and without the risk of data being used for training purposes.

Important to note: This is different from the full paid Microsoft 365 Copilot ($44.90/user/month), which also integrates deeply into Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams, and Outlook, and can reason over all your business data in the Microsoft Graph. The free Copilot Chat is web-grounded chat that protects your data but doesn’t access your documents and emails unless you specifically upload them.

The Smart Way Forward

AI adoption in small business doesn’t need to be chaotic or risky. You don’t need to ban tools, and you don’t need to spend thousands on licenses from day one.

Start by:

• Recognising that your staff are already using AI – and that’s a good thing.
• Steering them away from free public AI tools (where you are the product) to secure alternatives.
• Providing them with a secure, sanctioned way to keep using AI – whether that’s the free Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat option, investing in a paid platform, or using a combination of both depending on team roles and needs.
• Creating clear data protection guidelines. Rather than vague rules, help staff understand what’s sensitive: client names and contact details, financial information, unreleased product details, internal strategy documents, employee records, or anything marked confidential. A simple rule of thumb: if you wouldn’t post it publicly on social media, don’t put it in a public AI tool.

The goal isn’t to control AI use – it’s to guide it.

Final Thought

AI in small business is no longer a future topic – it’s here, today, in your inbox, spreadsheets, and chat threads. Leaders who provide safe, supported ways for their teams to use AI will gain the productivity benefits and protect their data in the process.

It’s about responsible innovation – and that starts with leadership.

Ready to Get Started?

If you’re unsure where to begin with AI in your business, or you’d like help setting up Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat and creating practical AI guidelines for your team, we can help. Get in touch to discuss how to implement AI safely and effectively in your business – without the overwhelm.

[Contact us today] to start your AI journey the right way.