Every organization needs to read the fine prints before choosing which AI Assistent to use. AI assistents have the power to reshape everyday working tasks, embedding themselves more deeply into administrative, hands-on tasks across every industry. Rather than replacing human roles, AI assistants are designed to enhance human-centered workflows. These tools have the potential to take organizational efficiency and productivity to new heights. However, with these opportunities come significant risks. Organizations must carefully evaluate the legal and ethical aspects of the AI assistants to ensure alignment with their core values and uphold security and safety level. This blog post provides information about what every organization should know to make informed, value-driven decisions before integrating AI.

What are AI Assistants?

The market offers a wide range of AI assistants with various functions. While tools like ChatGPT and Copilot excel at content generation through prompt-based interactions, our focus here is on ’meeting assistants’ specifically designed to enhance personal or team productivity. Based on insights from our client base, we’ve selected a few widely used solutions as examples; Sana, Otter, and Fireflies. These tools are equipped to record meetings, transcribe conversations, summarize key points, and generate actionable items.

Risks when using AI Assistants

While AI meeting assistants offer significant opportunities to streamline workflows and enhance personal and team efficiency, their use also raises critical legal and privacy concerns. These tools are designed to support daily tasks but their ability to record and store meeting content introduces risks related to the handling of sensitive, personal, or confidential information. Organizations must carefully evaluate these tools to balance their functionality with safeguards for privacy and compliance.

Establishing AI Governance

To establishing an AI Governance structure within your organization is crucial to keep track on this rapidly changing area. Organizations benefit from carefully assessing which AI assistants are permitted for internal use. However, evaluating these tools can be challenging, as their terms and conditions often include dense legal language and vague policies regarding data security and privacy. Missteps could lead to data breaches, compliance issues, and ethical risks.

To address this, we encourage organizations to designate a specific role or group to oversee AI adoption. Such leadership ensures safe, strategic integration and helps navigate the complexities of selecting tools that align with the organization’s values and policies. A structured approach minimizes risks and maximizes the benefits of responsible AI use.

How to Navigate the Opportunities and Risks Ahead?

The designated AI supervisor or group has to develop a thorough understanding of the privacy policies and terms of service associated with each AI tool to ensure safe and responsible use. Our review of AI meeting assistants boils down to the following evaluation questions:

Data Usage Practices
Understand how the AI meeting assistant uses the data it processes. This includes determining if data is retained temporarily or permanently, and if it´s anonymized. Distinguish between how the supplier uses data and how the underlying large language model (LLM) processes it. This distinction is crucial as data might be utilized for improving AI performance, which could involve third-party access or usage.

Safety and Security Measures
Confirm that the tool employs robust security measures, such as encryption, access controls, and secure data transmission protocols. A review of the supplier’s privacy policy should address how data is stored, processed, and protected from unauthorized access or breaches. Ensure the supplier regularly conducts security audits to maintain best practices.

User Data Rights
Assess whether the tool provides users with control over their data. This includes the ability to retrieve, edit, or delete stored information upon request. Determine how easily users can exercise these rights and whether the processes are in line with legal expectations and organization policies.

By addressing these aspects, organizations can ensure that AI meeting assistants are not only effective but also compliant with confidentiality requirements and aligned with organizational risk management practices.

Paid Subscription Plans and their Benefits

Paid subscription plans often bring critical benefits for security and productivity that free plans can’t match, especially for organizations handling sensitive data. While free plans appeal to individual users and small teams, they can carry limitations and potential risks.

Key Benefits of Paid Plans
Paid plans come with advanced security features, like stronger encryption and two-factor authentication, along with regular security updates. These features help ensure sensitive data is well-protected and that organizations meet compliance standards. Paid plans also offer higher or unlimited access limits for recording hours or meetings or how many documents can be transcribed per day, removing the caps often imposed by free versions.
Another major advantage is improved data control, including customizable data retention policies. This lets organizations manage their data to align with privacy needs.

Risks and Limitations of Free Plans
Free plans, while budget-friendly, come with trade-offs. They usually offer basic security and limited customer support, which can leave users vulnerable to data risks and slow issue resolution. They may also rely on data monetization or third-party sharing to offset costs, potentially impacting data privacy.

Why Paid Plans Are Worth It
For teams or organizations with high data security and productivity needs, paid plans provide essential benefits, from increased security to unrestricted access. While free plans work for lighter use, a paid subscription delivers peace of mind and more reliable functionality, supporting long-term success and secure data handling.

To summarize: Do consider that free plans generally means that you pay with your data. This may cause significant costs due to loss of data or breach of privacy legislation or confidentiality undertakings.

Contact Wisepoint

Contact Wisepoint if you need help in understanding the fine print and making an informed decision on what tool to use.

Do you need help in establishing a process for AI compliance and governance – let us help you!

Links to Privacy Notice

Privacy Notice Sana: https://sanalabs.com/legal/privacy-notice/

Privacy Policy Otter: https://otter.ai/privacy-policy

Privacy Policy Fireflies: https://fireflies.ai/privacy_policy.pdf

Published: 2024-12-03

Author: Elias Sorg