Blog · Compliance · Europe
European businesses often assume AI customer service and GDPR are in tension. Done properly, they're not — but "properly" has specifics. Here's the plain-English version we walk clients through.
First, roles: on your website, you are the data controller; your AI provider is a processor acting on your instructions under a data processing agreement. Second, minimisation: the agent should collect only what an enquiry genuinely needs — a name and contact route, not a biography. Third, transparency: your privacy policy should mention the assistant and what happens to conversation data.
Ask providers the hard questions: Where is data stored? Is conversation data used to train public AI models (it shouldn't be)? Can you export and delete on request? What's the retention period? Good providers answer in one email; evasive answers are your answer.
GDPR isn't the obstacle — it's the filter that separates serious providers from weekend projects. Use it that way.