Client Details and AI Tools: What Not to Paste In

Don't paste a client's details into a public chat tool. That's the short rule. The rest of this page explains why and what to do instead.

What counts as client details

Personal information is anything that could point to a real person. For a salon, that's more than a name.

• Full names, phone numbers, email addresses and home addresses
• Booking history, with names and dates
• Photos of clients, especially faces
• Notes about allergies, skin, health or medication
• Payment details
• Anything a client told you in confidence

Some of this is "sensitive information", which the OAIC says is generally afforded a higher level of privacy protection.¹ Health details are a common example, so allergy notes sit in the riskiest group.

What the regulator advises

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) advises organisations not to enter personal information into public generative AI tools. It singles out sensitive information.¹ That page is written for Australian organisations. If you're elsewhere, the idea still makes sense, but the rules differ. Look for your own country's regulator.

This site can't tell you whether what you do is allowed. Only the regulator or a lawyer can.

Where the pasted text might go

Many people assume a chat is private. It may not be. OpenAI's help page was checked on 1 November 2026. It says that on personal ChatGPT Free, Plus or Pro workspaces, data sharing ("Improve the model for everyone") is on by default. You can turn it off.²

Switching the setting off won't clear your history, because saved chats aren't deleted or hidden by it.² A client's name typed in last month may still sit in your history.

Settings and plans change. Other makers have their own pages. Read the current one for the tool you use.

Write requests with blanks

Here's the trick. You almost never need real details to get good wording. The tool writes the shape of the message. You supply the specifics afterwards.

Skip the real name, day and service. Type this instead: "Write a reminder for [name], [day] at [time], for [service]." Then fill in the brackets yourself, in your booking software or a notes file.

The same trick suits missed-appointment notes (see this page) and welcome texts (and this one).

Habits for staff

If other people work the desk, tell them the rule in one sentence. Write it down. A sticky note near the computer works.

• Keep a shared set of blank templates.
• Use work accounts, not personal ones, where you can.
• Don't upload screenshots of the booking screen. They hold names.
• Check the tool's data settings when anyone new joins.

When you're unsure

Leave it out. If a request still works without the detail, the detail wasn't needed. If it only works with the detail, do that job by hand.

For the official word, search for your country's privacy regulator. Its own pages beat anything a chat tool tells you about the law.