The AI default settings that quietly share too much

When software vendors add AI to an existing product, they want it to work well on day one. The easiest way to make that happen is to give the AI everything: every field on the client record, every note, every attachment. For a regulated firm, that default deserves a second look.

In one client portal we reviewed recently, the AI features that pick follow-up templates and write client messages started with all 32 standard contact and company fields shared with the AI provider. That included addresses, phone numbers, background notes and staff email addresses. The reminder message being configured needed three of them: a first name, a display name and the client's coordinator.

The same platform had a separate tool that lets an AI assistant read documents a person attaches in a chat. In a tax practice, those attachments are W-2s and 1099s. In a medical practice, they are referrals and lab results. Each one would be sent to the AI provider whole.

None of this is a flaw in the software. The settings were clearly labeled and easy to change. The risk is that nobody changes them, because the feature works fine with the defaults.

The principle is the oldest one in data protection: share the minimum necessary. HIPAA builds it into the minimum necessary standard. The FTC Safeguards Rule similarly requires firms to limit access to customer information to those who need it and to dispose of it when it is no longer needed, and most security frameworks expect the same. Applied to AI, it means each feature should receive only the fields its job requires.

Narrowing the data also tends to improve the results. A model given three relevant fields makes fewer odd choices than one given thirty, and it cannot mention something it was never shown. The platform we reviewed says as much on its own settings screen: a narrower set is usually judged more accurately as well as more cheaply.

A practical review takes an afternoon. List every AI feature that is switched on. For each one, open its data sharing or field settings and switch off everything the task does not need. Turn off document and attachment reading unless your vendor agreement covers it and the task genuinely requires it. Then write down what each feature receives, so your security plan reflects reality.

Repeat the review whenever a vendor ships a new AI feature, because new features usually arrive with generous defaults of their own.

If you would like a second set of eyes on what your systems are sharing, we review AI features alongside the rest of a client's environment. Our self-assessment is a good place to start.