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Services · Tech
AI governance and AI security
Most firms adopted AI faster than they wrote any rules for it. This is the policy, the risk assessment and the controls that stop company data ending up in a public chatbot.£2,500 to £12,000
What ai governance and ai security actually means
AI governance is simply having rules for how your business uses artificial intelligence, and controls to make sure the rules are followed. Almost every firm now has staff quietly using AI tools, pasting documents into chatbots to summarise them, drafting emails, analysing spreadsheets, usually with the best intentions and no guidance at all. Governance is the difference between that being a productivity boost and being a slow data leak nobody authorised.
The starting point is usually an honest look at what is already happening, which the industry calls shadow AI: the tools your people already use without telling anyone. Most owners are surprised. From there it is a plain acceptable-use policy people can actually follow, training so they understand why it matters, and technical controls that keep client and commercial data out of public models where it could be stored, learned from, or exposed.
For some businesses it also means formal readiness. New rules are arriving fast, from the EU AI Act to standards like ISO 42001, and if you build AI into products or operate in regulated areas, being able to show you govern it responsibly is becoming a requirement rather than a nicety. We map what actually applies to you and get you ready for it, without drowning you in compliance you do not need.
See it work
Rather than take our word for it
Some of these are fine to paste into a free AI tool, some should never be. Which is which?
Sort each one
0/8 rightWrite three subject lines for a spring newsletter about our new range of garden furniture.
Tidy up the wording of this blog post that we have already published on our website.
Draft a polite reply to a customer who is annoyed about a late delivery.
Here is our customer spreadsheet with names, home addresses and dates of birth. Please format it into a table.
The admin login is admin / Summer2024! and the live API key is sk_live_EXAMPLE1234notreal.
Here are our unpublished quarterly results, before we file them. Check that the figures add up.
Summarise these patient notes for me. They include names and medical conditions.
Paste in the full signed contract with our biggest client, including the confidential pricing schedule.
A scripted demonstration. A simple rule of thumb: if it names a real person, or unlocks something, keep it out of a public AI tool.
How it helps your business
The first thing it protects is your data, and through it your clients' trust. The most common AI accident is mundane: someone pastes a confidential contract or a customer list into a free tool to save time, and that data is now somewhere you cannot control and may have agreed, in terms nobody read, to let it be used. Clear rules and the right controls stop that quiet leak before it becomes the breach you have to disclose.
The second is that you get the upside safely rather than banning it in fear. The wrong response to shadow AI is a blanket ban, which just pushes it underground; the right one is to channel it. Give people approved tools and clear guidance and you keep the genuine productivity gains, which are real, while removing the risk. Governance is what lets you say yes to AI instead of a nervous no.
And it puts you ahead of the rules rather than behind them. The regulatory picture is moving quickly, and the businesses that wrote sensible AI policies early will find compliance a small step, while those that ignored it face a scramble. Being able to show a customer, an insurer or a regulator that you take AI safety seriously is fast becoming part of being a credible business at all.
What is included
- Shadow AI discovery, which is finding what your staff already use without telling anyone
- An acceptable use policy people can actually follow, plus training
- Controls that keep client and commercial data out of public models
- Readiness work against ISO 42001 and the EU AI Act, where either applies to you
Real examples
Illustrative cases. Tap one to see what happened and what could have been done.
The contract in the free chatbot
The case
At a professional-services firm, several staff routinely pasted client contracts and financial documents into a free public AI tool to summarise them, unaware the data could be retained and used to train the model. It was a serious confidentiality breach waiting to surface.
What could have been done
Discovering what was actually in use, putting an approved private tool in place, and writing a policy people can follow with a little training would keep the time saving and remove the risk. The leak is easy to close before it surfaces, and very hard to deal with after.
The shadow AI nobody had counted
The case
A marketing company assumed 'we don't really use AI yet'. In fact more than a dozen different AI tools were in active use across the team, several handling client data, none approved or checked, an invisible and growing liability.
What could have been done
A shadow-AI discovery brings it all into the open. From there, choosing safe tools and setting simple rules turns an unmanaged liability into a governed capability the leadership can actually stand behind.
Ready to sort ai governance and ai security?
Tell us what is going wrong and we will come back with a fixed price in writing, after a short scoping call. No obligation, and no jargon.
Common questions about ai governance and ai security
How much does ai governance and ai security cost?
£2,500 to £12,000. We agree the exact number before any work starts, so there are no open ended day rates.
How long does ai governance and ai security take?
Most work of this kind is live within three to four weeks. We give you a date before we begin and tell you early if anything threatens it.
Do you work outside Edinburgh?
Yes. We are based in Edinburgh and work on site across the Lothians, Fife and Glasgow, and remotely across the United Kingdom.
AI governance and AI security in your area
Same service, same prices, wherever you are. On site across central Scotland and remotely across the rest of the UK.
AI governance and AI security in EdinburghAI governance and AI security in LeithAI governance and AI security in FifeAI governance and AI security in Livingston and West LothianAI governance and AI security in GlasgowAI governance and AI security in DundeeAI governance and AI security in Aberdeen and the north eastAI governance and AI security in StirlingAI governance and AI security in FalkirkAI governance and AI security in Perth and PerthshireAI governance and AI security in LondonAI governance and AI security in ManchesterAI governance and AI security in BirminghamAI governance and AI security in LeedsAI governance and AI security in LiverpoolAI governance and AI security in SheffieldAI governance and AI security in BristolAI governance and AI security in Newcastle upon TyneAI governance and AI security in NottinghamAI governance and AI security in LeicesterAI governance and AI security in CoventryAI governance and AI security in CardiffAI governance and AI security in SwanseaAI governance and AI security in BelfastAI governance and AI security in SouthamptonAI governance and AI security in BrightonAI governance and AI security in ReadingAI governance and AI security in Inverness
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