What to keep out of an AI chat window when you run a business

Where your text goes

When you type into a chat tool, the tool sends your text to the company that runs it. Depending on the tool and your plan, that company may store the conversation and may use it to train future models.

You can check your own tool in a few minutes. In ChatGPT, open Settings, then Data controls, and look for the switch labeled Improve the model for everyone. In Claude, open Settings, then Privacy, and look for the switch labeled Help improve Claude. Turn the switch off if you do not want your chats used for training.

Passwords and login codes

Never paste a password, a two-factor code or a recovery key into a chat. That covers the login for your website host, your domain registrar, your bank and your email. An AI tool needs none of them to help you.

For a login problem, describe the problem in words. Write something like: my host shows an error when I try to reset my password, and the reset email never arrives. The AI can walk you through the usual causes without seeing the password.

Customer records and payment details

Customer names, phone numbers, home addresses, card numbers and order histories are private to your customers. Keep them inside the systems where you already store them, such as your point of sale and your email.

You can still get help with customer work. Before you paste, replace each real detail with a placeholder. Write [Customer] in place of a name, [Phone] in place of a number and [Order] in place of an order ID. The AI drafts the reply around the placeholders, and you type the real details into your own email program.

Spreadsheets work the same way. For help with a formula, paste the column headings and two rows of made-up data, then test the formula on a copy of your real file.

Private details about you and your staff

Leave out Social Security numbers, tax IDs, bank account numbers, employee pay, health information and anything from a personnel file. A question about payroll software works fine with invented numbers.

For a lease or a vendor agreement, remove the names, addresses and account numbers before you ask for a plain English summary. You can also copy out one clause by hand and ask what it means.

What you can paste freely

Your public menu, your posted hours, the text on your website, a product description and a job listing you plan to publish are all fine to paste. So is a rough draft of a social media post or a question about how to word a refund policy.

To decide, ask whether the text will appear on your website or your storefront window anyway. If it will, you can paste it.

A written rule for your team

Pick one AI tool for the business and note which plan you pay for. Open its privacy settings and decide whether chats may go toward training. Then write a three-line note for everyone who uses it: no passwords, no customer details, use placeholders. Pin it in your team chat or tape it next to the register.

AI Fluency calls this skill Diligence. It is one of the framework's four skills, and it means taking responsibility for how you use AI and for what you do with its output.