AI and your business data: a plain-English guide
The question I'm asked most about AI isn't "what can it do?" It's "where does my information go?" It's a sensible question, and the answer depends mostly on which tools you use and how they're set up.
Free apps and business tools are different
Free, consumer versions of AI apps may use what you type to improve their models, depending on their settings. Business and team plans from the major providers generally don't train on your data and give you more control over how long it's kept. Check the terms of any tool before you use it with customer or company information.
Five simple rules
- Use business plans for business data. Keep customer details, contracts and financial information out of free consumer apps.
- Connect only what's needed. If an assistant only needs your price list, don't give it your whole inbox.
- Keep a person in the loop. AI can be confidently wrong. Check anything that goes to customers or affects money.
- Limit what agents can do. Let them draft and prepare, but require your approval before they send, buy or delete anything.
- Write it down. Keep a simple note of which tools you use, what they can access and who's responsible. It also helps with your GDPR obligations.
The bottom line
Used carefully, AI is no riskier than the email and cloud storage you already rely on. The businesses that run into trouble are usually the ones that adopt it informally, with staff pasting information into whatever app they find.