An AI permission register for email, files and customer systems
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An AI permission register records the access granted to an assistant and the evidence supporting that decision. It should let an administrator or replacement owner answer what the connection can do without asking the assistant to describe itself.
Use the register during the business AI-access review. The example below is fictional and deliberately separates a drafting task from the ability to send a message.
Record the connection, not just the product name
A product name can cover several accounts and integrations. Record the particular workspace, service account or connection being reviewed. Identify who can change its settings and which business process it supports.
Use an internal reference rather than storing a credential in the register. Passwords, access tokens and recovery codes belong in the organisation’s approved secret-management process.
| Field | Fictional support-assistant entry |
|---|---|
| Workflow | Prepare a draft answer to a delivery-status query |
| Business owner | Customer-support lead |
| Connection owner | Authorised system administrator |
| Read scope | Approved help material and the selected test order |
| Write scope | Draft area in the test workspace |
| Excluded actions | Sending, refunds, payment-detail changes and deletion |
| Approval | A person checks the final recipient, text and attachments |
| Output location | Restricted draft queue |
| Logging | Tool action, record reference and outcome |
| Revocation | Named administrator and documented disable process |
| Test evidence | Reference to the contained test and observed result |
| Review trigger | New data scope, tool, delivery permission or owner |
Make the exclusions testable
“Cannot send” should correspond to a control in the connected system, such as an account or tool without delivery permission. A prompt asking the model not to send is not evidence of the same restriction.
Record how the control was checked. A contained test might show that the assistant can create a draft while a send action is unavailable or blocked. Keep the test destination harmless and approved; do not test the boundary by sending a message to a real customer.
Record what you cannot yet verify
Some limitations require the provider’s documentation or administrator access to inspect. Mark the evidence as outstanding and assign a person to obtain it. Avoid converting an unanswered question into an approval by leaving the field blank.
For example, the team may know where a draft appears but not how long an integration retains its processing logs. The register should distinguish the confirmed draft location from the unresolved retention question.
Keep data exposure in the review
A connection with no write permission can still read more than the task requires. Review the folders, mailbox scope and fields available to it. Where practical, use a dedicated view or account with limited access rather than a personal account carrying unrelated information.
The NIST small-business cybersecurity basics include limiting administrative privileges and maintaining an inventory of important assets and services. This register applies those general management concerns to a particular AI workflow; it is an original template.
Attach evidence without copying secrets
Link to controlled screenshots, configuration records or test results. Redact credentials and unnecessary identifiers before sharing a review copy. If a reviewer needs to inspect a sensitive setting, arrange appropriate access to the original rather than putting the secret in a slide deck.
When should an entry be closed?
When a connection is retired, record who revoked it, what happened to queued work and how retained material will be handled. The vendor exit plan can help with the service-side closeout. Keep the decision record under the organisation’s applicable retention rules.
Before expanding a live connection, update the register and repeat the affected tests using the synthetic-records test pack. An old approval should not stand in for a review of new permissions.
Featured image: AI-generated conceptual illustration.
