Workplace Privacy · Guide
Workplace Privacy Guide
Using AI at work creates new privacy considerations. This guide summarizes the most common ones.
Last updated: August 9, 2026
1. Employer policies
Most employers now publish acceptable-use policies for AI tools, data handling, and external services. Read yours before connecting AI tools to work data.
2. Privacy obligations
Many professionals operate under confidentiality, attorney-client, doctor-patient, fiduciary, or sector-specific obligations (HIPAA, FERPA, GLBA, GDPR, and others). These obligations continue to apply when AI tools are involved.
3. Confidential documents
Avoid uploading whole confidential documents into third-party AI systems. Where the task requires it, prefer enterprise AI tools your employer has reviewed and contracted for that purpose.
4. AI platform risks
Third-party AI providers may log, retain, or use submitted inputs. Provider terms change. Assume anything submitted to a public AI tool could be retained and act accordingly.
5. When in doubt
Pause, ask your employer, and use a redacted or synthetic example. The cost of asking is small. The cost of a confidentiality breach is not.