Notes · Note 03
What never to paste into a chatbot
The one thing to get right before your team gets comfortable — and it takes about fifteen minutes.
The short version
- Consumer accounts may train on what you type. Business accounts generally do not — check, do not assume.
- Client files, patient information, card numbers, passwords and keys never go in. Ever.
- Write one page, tell your team, and switch training off today. That is the whole job.
Your team is already using AI. In every audit we have run, someone had a personal account going before anyone set a rule — usually several people, usually on the free tier, usually with real company work in it.
That is not a scandal. It is normal, and it is fixable in an afternoon. But it should be fixed before somebody pastes the wrong thing.
Why it matters
Two separate issues get muddled together. The first is training: on consumer tiers, what you type can be used to improve the model. The second is retention: even where training is off, conversations may be stored for a period. Business and team plans usually handle both properly, but the defaults differ by vendor and they change. Check your account settings rather than trusting a blog post — including this one.
The never list
- Client or customer files that are not yours to share
- Anything covered by a confidentiality agreement you signed
- Patient information, or anything else regulated
- Card numbers, bank details, social security numbers
- Passwords, API keys, anything that grants access
- Unreleased financials, employee records, or anything about a live dispute
A useful test: if you would not put it in an email to someone outside the company, it does not go in a chatbot either.
Switch training off, today
Every major tool has the setting. It is usually under privacy or data controls, and it takes about a minute per account. Do it on every account that touches company work, including the personal ones your team already opened.
The point is not to stop using AI on real work — that would throw away the whole benefit. Swap names for roles, drop account numbers, keep the structure. A client in construction, invoice 90 days late, $40,000 gets you the same quality of answer as the version with a real name on it.
The one page your team needs
It does not need to be a policy document. Three things, written down where people can find them:
- What never goes in — the list above, edited for your business.
- Which tools are approved, and on which accounts.
- Who to ask when someone is unsure. Name a person, not a committee.
Then tell people. An unread policy in a shared drive protects nobody.
If it already happened
Do not panic and do not hide it. Delete the conversation, switch training off, and check whether the exposure triggers a notification duty in your industry — that is a question for your lawyer, not for us. Then write the page so it does not happen twice.