ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Safer Internet Day 2026

Written By Lee Tebby

With adoption of artificial intelligence increasing, this throws up legal and ethical concerns around the use of this technology and exploring the impact of AI on all our lives.  The theme for Safer Internet Day 2026 is focused on safe and responsible use of AI.

This year marks the 18^th anniversary of the initiative, Safer Internet Day which is observed by over 170 countries across 6 continents and is the UK’s biggest celebration of online safety.

A growing number of the SME businesses are incorporating Microsoft Copilot for Microsoft 365 into their suite of AI tools alongside the more common generative AI platforms like ChatGPT.

The event on Tuesday 10^th February acts as a timely opportunity to strengthen digital resilience, improve security and appreciate how artificial intelligence is becoming more integrated into our business processes and practices.

Guidance

The UK Safer Internet Centre offers guidance on how to use AI safely and responsibly through the focus on this year’s campaign.

Helping businesses to understand the limitations and risks that come along with using artificial intelligence, such as bias in the output of the results it generates from the training data, hallucinations, use of deep fake imagery and videos.

Cyber Security

Another important aspect is the need to raise awareness that small businesses are just as susceptible to being the target of a cyber attack and employees are often on the receiving end of phishing emails, online scams and fraudulent requests for information.

Safer Internet Day 2026 provides actionable tips to protect sensitive business data through training, awareness of the need to implement strong passwords, two-factor authentication and reminding businesses to keep their software updated to prevent security breaches.

Digital Culture

Businesses are encouraged to implement cyber security awareness training (CSAT) to educate staff on data literacy, social engineering and safe internet habits. Providing resources and training fosters an internal culture where employees feel confident and responsible when using digital tools.

Demonstrating a commitment to safety reassures clients and partners that their data is being handled securely and responsibly. Building, establishing and maintaining trust is a key focus in supply chains today. Businesses in the SME sector are seeing a growing number of security audits and questionnaires from customers, suppliers and partners in their own supply chains looking to understand their exposure to risk and to ensure that safety and security standards such as Cyber Essentials, ISO27001 and others are being maintained.

Personalisation

There is no doubt that artificial intelligence is a tool for good. However, it has changed the battleground and become the frontline in reducing the cost of launching sophisticated cyber attacks to next to zero and removing the skills required to carry them out.

AI bypasses two barriers, time and quality by being able to generate at scale and eliminate basic errors moving cyber threats from technical exploits to psychological manipulation. AI tools are used to scan social media platforms like LinkedIn to target new starters in companies and carry out CEO fraud like gift card scams.

It is estimated that around 80% of phishing email content was generated using AI in 2025 with that figure predicted to rise this year.

In Summary

To stay in business, you need to have an appreciation of the world around you. The pace of change in digital technology has accelerated with the advent of AI. Looking at how artificial intelligence can be used to help you improve efficiency, be more creative, drive innovation and provide better customer service experiences should be celebrated and encouraged.

Safer Internet Day 2026 covers a range of issues and concerns around voice assistants and chatbots as well as ethical considerations of use large language models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT along with providing top tips and advice on how to talk to AI and how to use new technologies in safe and responsible ways.

Use this day to review your cyber security policies, AI usage policies, data protection and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) procedures to help keep your employees and your business safe online.