AI Policy Template for Government Contractors

Government contractors handle the most heavily regulated data in private hands: CUI, export-controlled technical data, and contract deliverables with specific handling clauses. None of it belongs in a commercial chatbot, and a single employee shortcut can become a reportable incident. A contractor-grade AI policy makes the prohibited categories explicit and survives a DCMA or prime-contractor audit question.

AI risks specific to government contractors

• CUI in commercial AI tools can breach contract clauses and trigger mandatory disclosure
• Export-controlled technical data (ITAR/EAR) is prohibited in commercial AI tools
• Proposal content in consumer chatbots can leak competitive information
• Agency-specific AI rules increasingly flow down to contractors

Compliance requirements your policy must address

What a complete government contractors AI policy includes

• Purpose, scope, and who the policy covers (employees, contractors, volunteers)
• Approved AI tools and the process for approving new ones
• Acceptable uses — and the prohibited list, including data that must never enter prompts
• Privacy-law clauses for your jurisdictions (GDPR, EU AI Act, CCPA, PIPEDA) plus Government Contracting Requirements requirements
• Human review and accountability rules for AI output
• Incident reporting, enforcement, and annual review

Frequently asked questions

Can we use AI tools on proposals?

For generic boilerplate and editing, often yes. For anything containing CUI, export-controlled data, or source-selection-sensitive information, only in environments approved for that data — which excludes consumer AI tools.

Does CMMC require an AI policy?

CMMC doesn't name AI explicitly, but its data-handling controls apply to AI tools as information systems. A written AI policy is the practical way to demonstrate the control.

Other industries