AI and automation

Your team has AI. Nobody's sure what they're allowed to put in it.

We set up Microsoft 365 Copilot and the automations that take filing, drafting and data entry off your staff. Before any licence is bought we check who can see what in your files, write a plain AI use policy, then train each team on their own work. When something stops working or a new tool turns up, you call the same engineers who set it up.

Rules first, licences second. Australia wide.

Talk to an engineer Draft your AI policy 07 3114 2808

Plain AI use policy
Files tidied before Copilot
Training by role

Reviewed by Blake Bath, General Manager, on 31 October 2026.

An engineer running a workshop with a small team around a table, a whiteboard with simple boxes and arrows behind — **Rules before licences**Policy, permissions, then rollout.

What changes

AI that saves time without leaking data.

The tools are the easy part. These are the parts that decide whether it works.

Everyone knows the rules

A plain policy on which tools, which data and who checks the output.

Approved tools
Data rules
Owned output

AI use policy starter

Draft a plain AI use policy in a minute.

Pick the tools you'll allow and the data you hold. Copy the draft, then we help you finish it and back it with settings.

Pick the tools you allow and the data you hold. You get plain policy lines to start from.

Which AI tools will you allow? (pick all)

What sensitive data do you hold? (pick all)

Could AI help make decisions about people? (hiring, credit, pricing, eligibility)

Your AI use policy, first draft

6 plain rules

Use only these AI tools for work, signed in with your work account: Microsoft 365 Copilot.
Don't use personal AI accounts or free tools for anything to do with the business.
Don't paste customer names, contact details or identifiers into AI unless the tool is on the approved list.
Client work stays in approved tools, and client contracts are checked for AI restrictions first.
A person reads and owns everything AI drafts before it leaves the business.
Report anything odd an AI tool does, or anything sent by mistake, to IT straight away.

Before Copilot goes live, check who can see what in SharePoint and OneDrive. Copilot shows people what they already have access to.
A starting point, not legal advice. We help you finish it and back it with settings, not just words.

Finish it with us

What goes wrong

Six ways AI projects stall.

Licences before groundworkCopilot bought before files and permissions are ready.
No policyStaff guess what's allowed, or stop using it.
Generic trainingA demo that doesn't connect to anyone's actual job.
Permissions too broadCopilot surfaces files people shouldn't have had access to.
No baselineNobody timed the task before, so nobody can prove the gain.
IT-only rolloutThe teams who'd use it weren't in the room.

The data

Most AI use is happening on personal accounts.

Verizon's 2026 Data Breach Investigations Report found regular generative AI use at work tripled in a year, from 15% to 45% of employees. Of that use on work devices, 67% went through personal, non-company accounts.

That's data leaving the business with no record of where it went. The fix isn't banning AI. It's giving people an approved tool and a clear rule.

Verizon 2026 DBIR figures as reported from the report, read 31 October 2026.

The engagement

What we do, step by step.

Discovery
Which tools are in use now, which jobs AI could help with, and a baseline of how long they take.
Microsoft 365 readiness
SharePoint structure, permissions and sensitivity labels, so Copilot finds the right things.
Copilot rollout
Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook and Teams, with settings documented.
Copilot Studio agents
Single-purpose agents for IT, HR or customer questions, with limited access.
Automation
Power Automate and AI Builder for invoices, forms and document routing.
Policy and controls
Acceptable use policy, Purview and Defender settings, and an audit trail.
Training and coaching
By role, with follow-up sessions and champions in each team.
Support
The same engineers look after it once it's live.

Platform choice

Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini?

The tool matters less than the data and the rules around it. Here's how we usually think about it.

Tool	Usually fits	Watch for
Microsoft 365 Copilot	Businesses that live in Outlook, Teams and Office	Only as good as your SharePoint permissions
ChatGPT business plans	A flexible standalone tool across teams	Another place for data to live, outside Microsoft 365
Claude business plans	Long documents, policy and careful writing	Another place for data to live, outside Microsoft 365
Gemini in Google Workspace	Businesses on Google Workspace	Generally not the pick for a Microsoft business

Our view. Check each vendor's current data terms for the plan you buy.

Where it helps

Jobs AI is good at today.

Document reviewPull out key terms and summarise long documents. A person approves the result.
Meeting notesSummaries and action items from Teams meetings.
DraftingProposals and follow-ups from your own examples. Your team edits, not writes.
Invoices and formsData pulled out and posted to your system, with review steps.
Staff questionsAgents that answer IT and HR questions and hand off to a person.

The Australian picture

Two things worth knowing in 2026.

Privacy policies and ADM
From 10 December 2026, if a computer program makes or substantially helps make decisions that could significantly affect people using their personal information, your privacy policy must say so.
Agentic AI guidance
ASD's ACSC and Five Eyes partners published joint guidance on the careful adoption of agentic AI services, stressing layered defences and strict access controls.

From the OAIC (published 30 September 2026) and the joint agentic AI guidance listing, read 31 October 2026. Not legal advice.

What we design around

Five AI risks for small businesses.

Sensitive data in public toolsPasted in, with no record and no way back.
Better phishingAI writes convincing emails and clones voices.
Shadow AITools spreading across teams on personal accounts.
Prompt injectionAgents redirected by instructions hidden in emails or documents.
Privacy obligationsPersonal information used in decisions without the right disclosure.

Free resources

Download and share with your team.

AI in your business right now
An eight-page guide to the risks and opportunities, with practical first steps.
Download PDF
10 ways to stay secure using AI
A four-page checklist on permissions, labels, MFA and private versus public AI.
Download PDF
Securing tomorrow: AI and data protection
A 12-page ebook on backup, data lifecycle and Copilot readiness.
Download PDF
Microsoft's Copilot readiness questionnaire
Microsoft's own workbook to self-score before you buy licences.
Download workbook

How we start

Four steps before anyone buys a licence.

Step 1Discover
Tools in use, jobs to target, a baseline.
Step 2Set the rules
Policy, permissions and labels.
Step 3Roll out
Copilot or agents for the first jobs.
Step 4Train and support
By role, then ongoing.

AI sits on your systems. Get those right too.

Often done together.

Get help your way

Six ways to reach us. Pick whichever suits you.

Helpdesk hours are Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm AEST. On Advantage and above, emergencies get a response within 1 hour and outages within 2, with 24/7 best-effort escalation.

Questions

What people ask before an AI rollout.

Where to start with AI in a small business?

With the rules and the data, not the licences. Work out which tools staff already use, write a plain AI use policy, tidy who can see what in your files, then pick one or two jobs where AI saves real time. The policy tool on this page gives you a first draft.

Does our data get used to train public models?

Microsoft says prompts, responses and the files Copilot reads aren't used to train its foundation models. Other vendors' business plans make similar commitments, but terms differ by plan, so we check the plan you're buying before we recommend it.

Where is Copilot data stored?

Australian tenants are covered by Microsoft's data residency commitments for Copilot in its Product Terms. We confirm your tenant settings during rollout and write them down, so you can answer client and procurement questions.

What's the difference between Copilot and a custom agent?

Copilot is a general assistant inside Word, Outlook, Excel and Teams. A Copilot Studio agent is built for one job, like answering HR policy questions or triaging IT requests. We build both, depending on what saves the most time.

What changes with the Privacy Act in December 2026?

From 10 December 2026, if a computer program makes, or substantially helps make, decisions that could significantly affect people, and uses their personal information, your privacy policy has to say so. If AI touches hiring, credit, pricing or eligibility, check with your lawyer now.

How do you secure AI agents?

In 2026 ASD's ACSC and its Five Eyes partners published joint guidance on the careful adoption of agentic AI services. It stresses layered defences and strict access controls. We scope each agent to one process, give it only the access it needs, and require approval before it takes any action beyond looking things up.

How do we measure whether it's working?

Where the job allows, we time it before rollout and again after. Useful measures include time on the task, turnaround, and requests an agent handles without a person. Results depend on adoption, not just licences.

Next step