Sensitive Information and AI Checklist

About to discuss a sensitive business issue with an AI service? Use this checklist to reduce the information disclosed and decide whether the tool is appropriate. Temporary Chat reduces persistence — it does not make prohibited or confidential information safe to disclose.

Classify

• □ Is the information public, internal, confidential or restricted?
• □ Does it identify a real person?
• □ Is it covered by a contract, regulation or legal privilege?

Approve

• □ Is the AI service approved for this type of information?
• □ Is this a business account rather than a personal account?
• □ Are connected tools approved?

Reduce

• □ Remove names
• □ Remove addresses and account numbers
• □ Remove unnecessary dates and exact figures
• □ Replace identifiers with labels such as Customer A or Employee B

Files

• □ Remove document comments and tracked changes
• □ Check for hidden worksheets
• □ Remove metadata (author, organisation, revision history)
• □ Provide only the relevant section, not the full file

Never Include

• □ Passwords or one-time codes
• □ Authentication tokens or API keys
• □ Banking credentials
• □ Private encryption keys
• □ Recovery codes or full payment-card information

Temporary Chat

• □ Enable Temporary Chat before entering information
• □ Confirm the Temporary indicator is visible
• □ Remember: OpenAI may retain a copy for up to 30 days for safety purposes
• □ Check Custom Instructions — they may still apply
• □ Do not invoke connected tools unnecessarily

Review

• □ Check the output before relying on it
• □ Do not treat it as legal or professional advice
• □ Report any accidental disclosure
• □ Save only what is needed and close the session