A contract pasted into a chatbot may contain more than words to revise. It may reveal a client’s plans, obligations, or negotiations. Sensitive information is data whose exposure could harm someone or violate a duty of confidentiality. It includes personal data and confidential or proprietary information—data an organization controls that is not generally public. Not all sensitive information is personally identifiable information (PII). section 3.10 section 3.20
Large language models (LLMs) can encounter sensitive information in two ways: through data used to train them and through prompts people enter while using them. A model may reproduce text encountered during training; conversations may also be retained or reviewed, used to improve a service, or inadvertently exposed. These are risks, not a claim that every private prompt will appear in another user’s response. section 10.18 section 3.11
A contract-revision prompt
An attorney asks a dialogue agent to improve a draft contract. The result may save time, but entering client details could disclose confidential information to the provider and, without client consent, may jeopardize attorney-client privilege. The useful output does not erase the risk created by the input. section 3.10
Practical precautions focus on what enters the system and how it is handled:
- Do not enter client information, internal documents, proprietary code, or other data you would not want shared without appropriate safeguards. section 3.12
- Set workplace policies, assess tools in a closed environment, and check privacy disclosures, consent, deletion, and opt-out options. section 3.12
- Reduce sensitive data in training sources where possible. Anonymization and masking can help, but neither guarantees that all personal information is found or safely removed. section 10.18
Privacy depends on technical measures, provider practices, user choices, and governance. Even public posts can raise concerns when people did not expect them to train AI systems; disclosure alone may not ensure that users understand or accept that use. section 3.0 section 10.9
