Is it risky to put investor data into ChatGPT?
Short answer
Yes, it can be. Anything you paste into an AI tool may be stored by that company, and it may feed the model unless you turn that setting off. At Family Office Club we unchecked the box that shares our data with GPT. I also keep personal investor details out of prompts and think carefully about anything sensitive.
Yes, there is real risk, and the size of it depends on what you paste and which settings you use. Names, emails, net worth and commitment amounts are the kind of details I would think hard about before they go into any AI tool.
Why the data-sharing setting matters
Many AI tools have a setting that lets your conversations be used to train the model. If it stays on, what you type can end up feeding the model itself. That is the first thing I check. We at Family Office Club unchecked that box in the tools we built, so our conversations do not feed into the model.
In this webinar I explain how we handled the data-sharing setting in our own AI tools and why.
Summary and key takeaways from this video
"We've unchecked the box, so our conversations do not feed into the master brain of the LLM."
I will also say what I said on that webinar. Big companies behind Windows or Gmail could be scraping your data too. So I do not treat ChatGPT as a special case. I treat every tool the same way and ask where the data goes.
What I would keep out of a prompt
Most of the useful work does not need personal data at all. You can get a lot from AI by describing your situation in general terms.
- Investor names, emails and phone numbers
- Net worth, commitment amounts and account details
- Signed documents or subscription agreements
- Private notes about how a specific person reacted to your pitch
Instead, ask about your industry, your offering and the risks of your deal. I do this myself. When I want help with a data room, I describe my offering and ask what a sophisticated investor would expect to see. I do not paste in a list of my investors.
Here I talk about using AI as a due diligence prep consultant, which needs your deal details but not your investor list.
Summary and key takeaways from this video
Practical ways to lower the risk
Start with the settings. Find the option that controls whether your chats are used for training and turn it off. Business and enterprise plans of many AI tools offer stronger data terms, so read them before you rely on them.
Next, remove anything that could identify a person. Swap a name for a label like Investor A. Round numbers or use ranges. If you cannot do that and still get a useful answer, the task probably should not go into a public AI tool.
Then think about how you handle investor information. Many sponsors who hold investor data under confidentiality terms or privacy policies talk to a securities attorney about what that means for outside tools. I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. Review your own data policies before you load investor records into any outside tool.
Last, remember that AI is a coach. It helps you write a sharper email, a tighter one-liner or a better data room checklist. None of that requires your investors' private details. Keep the tool on the work, and keep the people's data out of it.
What I have said on this at our events
One practical way I think about AI and investors is to flip the direction of the data. Instead of pasting investor details into a public tool, consider giving the investor a notebook loaded only with the due diligence materials you have already decided to share. They can ask questions against everything you put out as a capital raiser, and their diligence may go more smoothly. You control what goes in, so your investor list never does.
"The other thing to consider when providing a data room to an investor is what if you provided them a NotebookLM with all of your due diligence preloaded, so they could ask questions against everything that you've put out as a capital raiser? That would probably make their due diligence a lot easier."
Key facts
- In our AI tools, Family Office Club unchecked the box that shares conversations with GPT, so chats do not feed the model.
- Our data room tool is based on 150 white papers, checklists, articles and talks, plus our full day workshop on investor due diligence.
- Our investor email analyzer is based on 1500 investors who have spoken on stage at our events.
Sources
From Richard C. Wilson's Centimillionaire Strategies YouTube channel: Webinar: Demonstration of 10 Artificial Intelligence Tools for Capital Raisers & Investors, Webinar: Demonstration of 10 Artificial Intelligence Tools for Capital Raisers & Investors, The #1 Strategy to Attract Investors Due Diligence Advantage | Capital Raising Workshop. Quotes come from the video captions, lightly edited for readability. Figures are the speakers' own estimates and experience.
General education only. Not legal, tax or investment advice.
Talk to a securities attorney to explore options around investor confidentiality terms, investor data privacy and data handling policies. Do not use AI to write your own legal agreements.
Your next steps
- Find the setting that controls whether your chats train the model and turn it off.
- List the investor details you hold and mark which ones should never go into a prompt.
- Replace names and amounts with labels and ranges before you paste anything.
- Read the data terms of any business plan you plan to use.
- Consider talking to a securities attorney about how to handle confidentiality questions.
People also ask
Can I use ChatGPT for investor emails safely?
Yes, if you write the email around a generic investor and leave out personal details. Add the name yourself after you are done.
Are other tools like Gmail also a risk?
I said on our webinar that companies behind Windows or Gmail could be scraping data too. The point is to understand each tool's terms, not to single out one.
Is it safe to ask AI about my data room?
Asking what belongs in a data room is low risk because it uses general information. Uploading the actual documents is a different decision, so check the tool's data terms first.
Related questions
- How do I use AI to personalize cold outreach to investors?Use AI to speed up the research and the first draft, then personalize around what the investor actually cares about.
- How do I use AI to build a fundraising financial model?Use AI as a fast assistant for drafting the structure, formulas and scenarios of your model, then check every number yourself.
- Can AI answer investor questions inside a data room?Yes, AI can draft the answers, and that is how I use it.
- Can AI score my pitch deck before I send it?Yes.
Work through it with the data room checklist. See all ai for capital raising resources.