What you type into these tools may be stored, and may be seen by people at the company that runs them. Some things you should simply never paste, for your own protection and for other people's.
Never: your ID number, bank or card details, passwords, medical information, and other people's personal details. That last one matters more than people realise. Pasting a colleague's information into a tool is your decision made with their data, and under South African privacy law it can be a real problem for your employer.
Be careful: your full home address, your employer's confidential documents, anything a client told you in confidence.
Generally fine: your work experience, the job advert, your own writing, general questions.
You want help writing a reference for a colleague.
What happens: You have shared another person's personal information with a company, without their permission, and you cannot get it back.
What happens: You get the same help without handing over anyone's identity documents. The tool never needed the ID number to write a reference.
Does the company keep what I type?
Often yes, at least for a period, and some services use conversations to improve their systems. Policies differ by tool and change over time. The safe assumption is that anything you type could be read by someone else, and then decide what to paste on that basis.
My employer has rules about AI. Do they matter?
Very much. Many South African employers now have an AI policy, and pasting company documents into an outside tool can be a dismissible offence even when you meant well. Ask what the policy is in your first week rather than finding out afterwards.
Before you move on
- Never paste ID numbers, bank details or passwords
- Never paste another person's personal details
- Ask your employer about their AI policy
Check what you know
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