The AI Working Agreement
A twenty-minute exercise for deciding what you delegate, what you keep, and what stays human.
Your answers never leave this page. Nothing is saved or sent, so finish in one sitting, then print or save your agreement. Refreshing the page clears it.
Why write it down
You already have a working agreement with AI. Everyone who uses these tools does. It just lives in your habits instead of on paper, which means it was never decided. It accumulated, task by task, handoff by handoff. This page turns the accumulated agreement into a chosen one.
Some people finish this page and delegate more to AI, with a clearer conscience. The point is not restriction. The point is that you decide where the line sits, and that you can say exactly what you will not hand over.
First, the inventory
List the actual tasks you handed to AI in the last two weeks, not categories. Then mark each one.
✓ glad I delegated it ? something got thinner ✗ this one cost me something
The ? and ✗ marks are the reason the next section exists.
The agreement
Answer in your own words. Short is fine. Honest is required.
1. What I delegate to AI, and what that frees me to do.
Finish the sentence. Delegation without a "so that" is just drift. I delegate ___ so that I have more time for ___.
2. What I will never delegate.
The part of your work that requires a self. Be specific. "Creativity" is a category, and "telling someone hard news in my own words" is an answer.
3. When AI is off.
Name when, too, not just what. The meetings, conversations, or hours where the tool is closed on purpose.
4. How I verify what comes back.
AI sounds fluent whether or not it is right. Against what source, evidence, or judgment do you test its output before it goes out under your name?
5. How I credit its contribution.
What you tell colleagues, clients, or readers about AI's part in your work. Name the tool and say what it did, the way you would cite a source. For example, "Claude, made by Anthropic, helped me edit this report. The ideas and decisions are mine." Notice anything you'd be uncomfortable admitting.
6. Who remains responsible.
Write the name. The point is to see it under everything above.
Make it yours
This agreement is living. Ninety days is right for most people. Rewrite what no longer holds.
Put the revisit date in your calendar
Only the date and a short reminder go into your calendar. None of your answers.
To keep a copy as a PDF
On a computer, click Print my agreement, then choose Save as PDF as the printer.
On an iPhone, tap Print my agreement, then tap the share icon at the top and choose Save to Files.
On an Android phone, tap Print my agreement, then choose Save as PDF.
Nothing you type is saved here, so keep your copy before you close this page.
I would love to hear how you are using your agreement. What did you decide to keep for yourself?
Write to me at info@whatstayshuman.org or through the contact page.
You're welcome to complete and keep this agreement for personal use. Reproduction or adaptation for teaching, training, or publication requires permission.
An honest note. This exercise won't protect your job, and it isn't legal or career advice. It does one thing. It makes the agreement you already have visible, so you can choose it.
Created by Angi Yoder-Maina, with writing and design help from Claude, made by Anthropic.
© 2026 Angi Yoder-Maina. What Stays Human™. All rights reserved.
Prefer pen and paper?
Download the printable version and fill it in by hand. Same questions, same twenty minutes.
After you finish
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