Many people want ChatGPT to help at work but are not sure what they can safely paste. The safest habit is simple: remove names, private numbers, customer details, financial data, legal text, and anything your company would not want outside its systems.
Before you paste anything
- Check your company AI policy if one exists.
- Use approved work tools when your company provides them.
- Replace real names with roles, such as Client A or Manager B.
- Use small samples instead of full files.
- Never paste passwords, private customer data, medical data, legal documents, or confidential strategy.
Safer prompt pattern
Help me with this work task using only anonymized information.
Task:
[what I need help with]
Context without private details:
[industry, role, general situation]
Example data with placeholders:
[Client A, Product B, Region C, Amount X]
Rules:
Do not assume missing facts.
Flag anything that needs human review.
Return a draft I can edit before using.
Test input
Task: write a customer apology email
Context without private details: ecommerce company, delayed shipment, customer has contacted support twice
Example data with placeholders: Customer A ordered Product B. Shipment is 5 days late. Support missed the first reply.
Rules: do not mention compensation unless I provide it.
What good output should include
- No real names, order IDs, addresses, phone numbers, or payment details.
- A draft that uses placeholders instead of private data.
- A reminder to confirm refund or compensation policy before promising anything.
- A human review step before sending.
Stronger prompt
Before helping with this work task, review the information below for privacy risk.
Task:
[what I want to do]
Draft context:
[paste anonymized or partially anonymized context]
Instructions:
1. List anything that still looks private or sensitive.
2. Rewrite the context using safer placeholders.
3. Ask me for any missing non-sensitive details.
4. Only then create the work draft.
5. Do not invent facts, policies, refunds, legal claims, or commitments.
Example
Instead of pasting a real customer complaint with name, order number, and private details, describe the problem in general terms: "Customer A received a late shipment, wants a refund, and is frustrated because support did not reply for three days."
Common mistake
People remove names but leave unique details that still identify the person or company. Treat dates, locations, deal sizes, and unusual events as sensitive too.