AI governance for Texas businesses, before September 1
Texas Attorney General’s office is required to have its public AI complaint portal live by September 1, 2026. If your team uses ChatGPT, Copilot, or any AI tool and you have not written it down anywhere, you are not ready. Here is a policy template and a 10-minute audit that get you there today, not after you read another explainer.
Download the free AI policy template → Call 512-761-7652What TRAIGA actually requires
Most Texas business owners think TRAIGA is a problem for AI companies. It is not. It applies to any business that uses AI tools while operating in Texas, which by now is nearly every business. Here is the short version:
- If an AI system talks to your customers, they need to know it is AI, in clear language, before or during the interaction.
- Healthcare providers using AI in treatment have to disclose that too.
- The law bans a handful of specific misuses (discriminatory automated decisions, AI designed to manipulate people toward self-harm, unauthorized biometric collection, and a few others).
- Enforcement is complaint-driven. Someone, a customer, an employee, a competitor, can complain to the AG once the portal opens.
- You get 60 days to fix a problem after the AG notifies you. You do not get 60 days if you never wrote a policy and cannot show what you are doing.
What this means for you: the businesses at real risk are not the ones doing something malicious. They are the ones who never wrote anything down, so when a complaint comes in they cannot show they were paying attention.
Why a policy beats reading about a policy
Plenty of articles will explain TRAIGA to you. None of them hand you something to actually do this afternoon. That is the gap we are closing here: a one-page AI-use policy template you can adopt today, and a 10-minute Shadow AI self-audit that tells you where AI is already being used in your business without anyone deciding it should be. Fill out the audit first. It tells you what the policy needs to cover.
The 10-minute Shadow AI self-audit
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Get the policy template
Enter your email and we will send the one-page AI-use policy template as a PDF, plus the self-audit checklist. No sales call, no obligation.
Common questions
What is TRAIGA and does it apply to my small business?
TRAIGA (the Texas Responsible AI Governance Act) took effect January 1, 2026, and applies to any business that operates in Texas or serves Texas customers and uses AI systems, not just AI companies. If your team uses tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, or an AI-powered CRM, it likely applies to you.
What happens when the AG’s complaint portal opens on September 1?
Texas consumers, employees, or competitors will be able to file AI-related complaints directly with the Attorney General’s office. Businesses that receive a complaint get a written notice and a 60-day window to fix the issue before penalties apply, but you need to be able to show what you are doing.
What counts as “Shadow AI”?
Any AI tool being used inside your business that leadership or IT did not officially approve or review, most commonly employees pasting company or customer data into free consumer AI tools.
Do I need a lawyer to write an AI policy?
For most small and mid-sized businesses, a clear one-page policy covering what tools are approved, what data can and cannot go into them, and who to ask before adopting a new one, covers the practical risk. Businesses with regulated data (healthcare, financial, legal) should still have counsel review it.
Does safemode IT help with TRAIGA compliance directly?
Yes. Beyond the free template and audit here, we help clients review their actual AI tool usage, lock down data access, and put a real policy in place as part of managed IT and cybersecurity service.
Not sure where your business stands?
We’ll review your actual AI tool usage as part of a free IT assessment, no obligation.
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