Trustees do not need a new strategy document before anyone tries the tool. They do need a boundary that a busy manager can keep. The ICO guidance on AI and data protection expects you to know what personal information is used, why, and how people remain in charge. The Charity Commission essential trustee guidance still puts that responsibility with the board. The Charity Commission note on charities and artificial intelligence asks trustees to understand the tool they are allowing before staff start using it.

A safe first checklist

  1. Which job? Pick one repeating office task, such as turning approved notes into a first draft of a routine letter or a board summary. Not a public chatbot.
  2. Which information? Use policies, published reports or other material the trustees have already agreed can be used. Leave case files, donor lists and staff records out of the first trial.
  3. Where does it go? Write down whether the tool runs on your own system or on someone else's. If you cannot answer that, do not start.
  4. Who checks? Name the person who reads the draft before it is sent, filed or shown to a trustee.
  5. When do we stop? Agree the sign that the trial is not helping, and stop it without buying a second tool.

What to leave until later

Sensitive beneficiary, donor or staff information is a later decision, not the warm-up. Read Can charities use ChatGPT with sensitive data? before anyone pastes a case note into a public chat. The wider question of sources, location and review is covered in Can charities use AI with sensitive data in the UK?

The board questions to ask before anyone approves a tool are in AI governance questions for trustees. Welsh Government's overview of artificial intelligence sets public-sector principles of ethical, trustworthy use. A charity can ask the same questions of its own first project even though that overview is written for public services.

When the first job is clear and the information is allowed, a Private AI Workspace keeps that work on your own system, with a person still signing off what goes out.

Sources

Questions

Short answers.

Should a small charity start with a chatbot?

No. Start with one repeating office job that already has approved information and a person who checks the result. A public chatbot can wait.

Can we use beneficiary records in the first project?

Not as the first step. Start with policies, published reports or other information trustees have already approved. Sensitive records need a separate decision about where the data goes.

Who is accountable?

The trustees remain accountable. Name one member of staff who reviews what the tool drafts before it is used.