The Sixwatch Arsenal Blog

Top 5 Safe AI Practices for Financial Services Firms

Written by Sixwatch | Nov 28, 2025 3:20:13 PM

AI is transforming financial services—but without the right safeguards, it can expose firms to compliance violations, data leaks, and inaccurate outputs that damage client trust. These five safe AI practices help financial services firms modernize without putting their business at risk.

 

Establish Clear AI Usage Policies

Your team is already using AI, whether you’ve approved it or not.

Create written guidelines that define:

  • What data can/cannot be entered into AI tools
  • Approved AI platforms
  • Required disclosures or disclaimers
  • How AI-generated content must be reviewed

A policy isn’t optional anymore—it’s protection.

Assess Your AI Readiness

Before turning on tools like Microsoft Copilot, verify:

  • Where your data lives

  • Who can access it

  • How clean and organized it is

  • Whether identity and security controls are in place

An AI Readiness Assessment ensures you don’t accidentally expose sensitive information to staff or AI systems.

Implement Strong Data Governance

AI is only as safe as the data behind it.
Financial firms need:

  • Proper permissions and access control
  • Data labeling and retention standards
  • Document hygiene (clean, organized, structured data)
Good data governance reduces the risk of bad outputs and compliance issues.

Train Employees on Safe AI Use

Even the best technology fails when employees misuse it.
Provide role-specific training on:

  • Safe prompting

  • Avoiding sensitive client details

  • Reviewing AI outputs for accuracy

  • Understanding AI limitations

Educated users are your first line of defense.

Monitor and Audit AI Activity

Financial firms must supervise AI the same way they supervise communications and trading activity.
That means:

  • Tracking which tools are used
  • Reviewing AI-generated outputs
  • Monitoring access logs
  • Flagging “shadow AI” use
  • Continuous oversight keeps your firm compliant and protected.

Sixwatch Can Help

Sixwatch helps financial services firms safely adopt AI with:

  • AI readiness assessments
  • AI governance frameworks
  • Microsoft 365 Copilot configurations
  • Ongoing AI advisory

Make sure your firm is using AI safely, securely, and confidently, Schedule your complimentary Assessment.