Where client data goes
The path client information takes through an AI product and its suppliers, including who receives copies and where they are kept.
Where client data goes is the route client information takes when an AI product uses it. That route may include the product vendor, a transcription company and the company running its AI model. The firm needs to know which information each receives, where it is stored and how long it is kept. The vendor's agreement and list of other companies it uses are a starting point; the firm may need to ask for missing details.
At Joan Whitfield's annual review, the adviser records the meeting. Joan asks where the recording goes, and the adviser says it stays with the firm, thinking of the copy on her client file. The firm's vendor documents show a longer route: the vendor stores the recording, another company transcribes it, and a third runs the model that turns the transcript into notes. The companies keep different copies for different periods. The answer Joan received left most of that route out.
The firm can trace the recording, transcript and notes separately, then give clients an answer that matches the product it uses. Deleting the copy in the product may not delete copies held by other companies, so the firm checks each company's retention and deletion arrangements. Knowing that a vendor stores data in one country does not establish where its other companies process it.
Not to be confused with
- Training on client data means using it to train or improve AI models. It is one question to ask about data sent along the route, alongside access, storage and deletion. The answer depends on the product and plan.
- A data-residency promise covers the data and locations named in that promise. It may not cover every company involved or every processing step, so the firm checks its scope.
- The model provider develops the model, but another company may run it. The firm needs to know which of them receives client information in this product.
Overheard
A client asked me where her meeting recording goes. What do I tell her?
Not "it stays with us". It goes to the vendor and two more companies. I've written the route up, so we all give clients the same answer.
Where it sits
Where client data goes
- works withChat app vs AI inside a productModel providerMemoryPermissionTraining
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