Restricting AI

At Fitzrovia IT, we see AI as a powerful enabler of productivity and innovation. Used wisely, it helps businesses operate with more precision, creativity, and speed. But as with any tool that processes data, there’s a fine balance to strike between innovation and information security. Not all AI tools are created equal, and unrestricted use can expose organisations to unnecessary risk.

This is where responsible AI use comes in. An understanding not just of what AI can do, but how to use it safely, ethically, and transparently is vital.

Public AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini are remarkable in what they can produce, but they are also public by design. Many of these systems don’t encrypt data or guarantee that your inputs remain private. In sectors such as financial services, law, or healthcare, that’s a major problem. Entering confidential information such as client names, account details, and financial data into unapproved AI systems could amount to a serious data breach or even a regulatory violation.

It’s a reminder that while AI can make us more efficient, it must never come at the cost of compliance or confidentiality.

Why Responsible AI Matters

AI is a tool, not a decision-maker. It can assist our thinking, but it shouldn’t replace it. Responsible AI use means maintaining human oversight; reviewing, editing, and verifying everything an AI produces.

There are clear risks when AI is used carelessly:

• Data privacy breaches: Confidential data entered into public AI tools could be exposed.
• Misinformation: AI-generated content can be inaccurate or fabricated.
• Bias: Outputs may reflect or amplify bias in training data.
• Compliance violations: Many public AI tools don’t meet GDPR or industry-specific standards.
• Reputation damage: Sharing unchecked AI-generated material could harm credibility or client trust.

Obviously, the solution isn’t to reject AI, it’s just to use it intelligently, within the right framework and using the right AI. At Fitzrovia IT, we encourage a culture of AI literacy: understanding what AI can do, questioning its outputs, and using it as an assistant rather than a replacement for critical thinking.

Best Practices for Everyday AI Use

To make the most of AI safely, we follow a few simple but essential principles:

1. Be transparent. If AI has helped you write or analyse something, acknowledge it where appropriate. Transparency builds trust.
2. Protect confidential information. Never input client data, financial details, or personal information into public AI tools.
3. Always review and edit outputs. AI can make mistakes, whether it’s factual, grammatical, or ethical. A human must always have the final say.
4. Keep AI in its lane. Use it to support creative and administrative tasks, not to make sensitive decisions or client judgments.
5. Maintain ethical standards. Avoid bias, stereotyping, and misrepresentation in all AI-assisted work.
6. Continue learning. AI is evolving quickly. Staying informed ensures we all use it more wisely.

When in doubt, treat any unapproved AI platform as a public environment and keep private data out of it.

Which AI is Fitzrovia IT Approved?

The key to safe and effective AI use lies in the platform it runs on. Not all AI systems offer the same level of security or data governance. That’s why at Fitzrovia IT, we’ve chosen Microsoft Copilot as our approved AI solution.

Copilot is built directly into Microsoft 365, meaning it works inside the secure environment your organisation already uses. It inherits the same compliance, privacy, and identity settings as your Microsoft account. This means:

• Your data stays secure. Copilot doesn’t send your content to external servers for training.
• Access is permission-based. Copilot only retrieves data you’re already allowed to view in your Microsoft ecosystem.
• Compliance is built in. It aligns with the same GDPR and regulatory standards as the rest of Microsoft 365.

Unlike public AI tools, Copilot never uses your organisation’s data to train its models. It operates entirely within your Microsoft tenant, keeping your information private and protected.

The Smart Way to Work with AI

Copilot combines the intelligence of AI with the integrity of Microsoft’s security infrastructure. This makes it the most appropriate for enterprise use. With Copilot, employees can confidently:

• Draft and refine documents in Word
• Analyse and visualise data in Excel
• Summarise meetings and emails in Outlook and Teams
• Generate professional presentations in PowerPoint
• Capture and assign action points automatically

All without leaving the secure Microsoft environment.

Copilot helps you harness AI’s potential without compromising data protection, compliance, or trust.

The Golden Rules

At Fitzrovia IT, our approach is simple:

1. Be Transparent: Acknowledge AI contributions where relevant 
2. Be Accurate: Always fact-check and edit AI outputs. 
3. Be Secure: Use only Microsoft Copilot or other approved tools. 
4. Be Ethical: Avoid bias, misinformation, or plagiarism.
5. Be Responsible: Remember: you are accountable for your work.

AI has the power to transform the modern workplace, but how we use it determines whether it becomes a source of progress or risk.

By choosing Microsoft Copilot as our trusted AI partner, we ensure innovation happens within a framework of security, compliance, and human oversight. It’s about working smarter, not riskier.

In the age of AI, the smartest organisations won’t just use technology, they’ll stay informed and use it responsibly.