How the Code of Practice helps charities use AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) is changing society and charities have to adapt. Service users’ needs are impacted by the emergence of AI, as are the opportunities and risks to charities themselves.

The AI boom has already started to shape how charities communicate, fundraise, and provide services. According to the Charity Digital Skills Report 2024, over three fifths (61%) of charities are using AI tools in their day-to-day operations, with the most popular uses being developing online content, completing administrative tasks, and drafting documents and reports.

Meanwhile, more than a third (37%) are not using AI tools day-to-day, due to factors such as lacking technical skills and expertise, a lack of AI training, and concerns around data privacy, GDPR, and security concerns.

The Charity Digital Code of Practice 2025 was written with both groups in mind – from those embracing AI wholesale to those uncertain about how to proceed. For everyone, the Code offers guidance on potential opportunities, best practice for responsible use, and how to stay adaptable for the future. In this article, we explore in more depth how the Code can help you. 

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What charities need to know about AI 

Speaking to the sector through a series of in-depth interviews and a comprehensive survey of over 60 charity leaders, it was clear that AI must play a prominent role in the Code.

We learnt from the Review Board, consisting of volunteers from different UK charities, the importance of defining the different forms of AI, and introducing AI across the Code. So we have made sure that the glossary includes simple definitions of types of AI, including generative AI, machine learning, agentic AI, and automation, all of which can provide benefits to charities.

The Charity Digital Skills Report 2024 tells us that most charities are looking to develop their general understanding of AI and how other charities are using it. Many are also looking to learn practical insights as to how to use AI tools responsibly, exploring potential use cases for AI in services, and assessing AI risks. The Code provides guidelines in each of these areas.  

Exploring the opportunities of AI 

Emerging tech offers charities the opportunity to innovate to drive social change, and AI is no different. AI, arriving in force after decades as a niche technology, presents opportunities for productivity enhancement, stimulated demand, and small-scale automation.  

For example, as leading IT solutions provider Azeus Convene explore, AI can suggest the optimal meeting time based on participant availability, send automated invites out, transcribe and summarise meetings, suggest actions based on meetings, and automate post-meeting tasks like follow-up emails, meeting minutes, and reminders.  

AI can also help charities estimate in advance when issues will arise. For example, Azeus  Convene highlights that in Housing Associations, AI can help predict the risk of damp and mould. 

AI can also use customer segmentation to deliver more personalised services, as well as supporting governance, for example by summarising content and helping to navigate meeting materials and reports. 

The Code helps charities tap into that potential. Exploring eight themes (leadership, user-led, culture, strategy, data, skills, risk, and adaptability), the Code ambitiously outlines how charities can make the most of AI to achieve their mission.  

Approaching AI responsibly 

For all the positive potential of AI, it also has the potential to create new social harms and expose organisations to significant risks, if adopted without the right checks and balances. The Code helps charities identify and manage risks that come with using AI, aligning usage with key values such as integrity, inclusivity, accountability, fairness, and openness.

Guidance includes considering how AI is used when it comes to data-sharing in partnerships, understanding how adopting AI will impact marginalised communities, and deciding which social platforms to prioritise.

The Code pays attention to responsible AI use to ensure that charities protect their stakeholders from potential harm, manage their own reputation, and model ethical and inclusive practice for others, thereby expanding their impact.

Preparing for the future of AI 

As the AI landscape changes, charities need to adapt, being able to respond to advancements in AI while staying true to their charitable objectives and values. They can do this by developing flexible digital plans ahead of time.

The Code encourages charity leaders to identify how AI could change the society in which their charity operates, helping them to adapt to meet the evolving needs of beneficiaries, supporters, and other stakeholders. With the unprecedented pace of AI’s evolution, adaptability will help charities react to risk and spot opportunities quickly.

As Arturo Dell, Associate Director of Azeus Convene, emphasised in a recent webinar, organisations must learn how to integrate AI thoughtfully, balancing opportunities for improved efficiency with the need to manage risks around accuracy, security, and the impact on critical services. 

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