Policy Overview

Policies are the rules that define what content should be blocked, detected, or redacted when users interact with AI platforms. This guide explains how policies work and how to manage them.

What is a Policy?

A policy is a rule that:

• Detects specific patterns in content
• Takes action when patterns are found
• Records the event for audit

Policies run in real-time as users interact with AI platforms, enforcing your organization's data protection requirements.

Policy Components

Each policy consists of:

Detection Rules

What the policy looks for:

• Pattern matching - Regular expressions
• Keyword detection - Specific words/phrases
• Data type recognition - SSN, credit cards, etc.
• AI/ML models - Advanced content classification

Enforcement Action

What happens when detected:

• Block - Prevent the action completely
• Detect - Record the event and create an alert without blocking
• Redact - Automatically mask or remove sensitive content before sending

Scope

Where the policy applies:

• AI Platforms - ChatGPT, Claude, all, or specific
• Users - All users, specific teams, or individuals
• Sites - Can be overridden per site

Pre-Built Policies

Containment.AI includes a library of pre-built policies:

PII Detection

Policy	Detects	Default Action
Social Security Numbers	XXX-XX-XXXX pattern	Block
Credit Card Numbers	16-digit card numbers	Block
Phone Numbers	Various phone formats	Detect
Email Addresses	Email patterns	Detect
Physical Addresses	Street addresses	Detect

Credentials & Secrets

Policy	Detects	Default Action
API Keys	Common API key patterns	Block
Passwords	Password-like strings	Block
Private Keys	PEM, SSH key formats	Block
Connection Strings	Database URLs	Block

Business Data

Policy	Detects	Default Action
Financial Data	Revenue, pricing info	Detect
Customer Names	Name + context patterns	Detect
Project Codenames	Internal project names	Detect

Compliance

Policy	Detects	Default Action
HIPAA/PHI	Medical information	Block
GDPR Personal Data	EU PII patterns	Detect
PCI Data	Payment card info	Block

Policy States

Enabled

• Policy is active and enforcing
• Violations generate alerts
• Users see blocks/detections

Disabled

• Policy is not running
• No enforcement occurs
• Existing alerts remain

Draft

• Policy is being edited
• Not yet activated
• Test without enforcement

Policy Hierarchy

Policies can be scoped at multiple levels:

Organization Policies
    ↓
Team Policies
    ↓
Site-Specific Overrides

More specific scopes override broader ones.

Plan Availability

Feature	Free	Professional	Enterprise
Pre-built policies	✓ (read-only)	✓	✓
Enable/disable	✓	✓	✓
Custom policies	✗	✓	✓
Policy exceptions	✗	✓	✓
Team scoping	✗	Basic	Full

Getting Started

1. Review the Policy Categories
2. Configure policies for your needs
3. Set up exceptions for legitimate use cases

Best Practices

Start Conservative

• Begin with detect mode
• Review alerts before blocking
• Gradually tighten controls

Tune Regularly

• Check for false positives weekly
• Adjust sensitivity as needed
• Add legitimate patterns to allowlists

Document Decisions

• Keep notes on why policies are configured
• Track exceptions and their justifications
• Maintain audit trail of changes

Related Topics

• Policy Categories - Explore available policies
• Configuring Policies - Set up and customize
• Exceptions - Handle edge cases