Tag: AI solutions for business

  • How Businesses Can Protect Their Data Privacy While Utilizing AI Tools

    How Businesses Can Protect Their Data Privacy While Utilizing AI Tools

    Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming how small and mid-sized businesses operate. From producing marketing content to summarizing documents to automating workflows, AI tools can provide undeniable productivity boosts. But with this power comes a real concern: how do you ensure your sensitive business data stays private when using AI systems?

    The good news, businesses can safely leverage AI without putting themselves at risk. It just requires intentional guardrails, the right technology stack, and clear processes. In this post, we’ll walk you through the essentials of protecting your data privacy while using AI – and how Valley Techlogic helps you put these protections in place.

    1. Understand Where Your Data Goes When Using AI

    Many public AI tools process data outside your environment and may store prompts for future model training unless you opt out. That means confidential information—client lists, financials, contracts, internal communications—could be exposed or retained longer than expected.

    Before your team uses any AI platform, you should know:

    • Where the data is sent and stored
    • Whether prompts or outputs are used for training
    • How long data is retained
    • Who (internally and externally) has access to that data

    The first step is recognizingConsumer AI tools are built for convenience, not compliance or with your particular data being safeguarded in mind. Businesses should rely on AI systems that specify they  1. Do not train on your corporate data 2. Offer tenant-isolated storage and encryption. 3. Give you access to administrative controls & audit logs 4. Offer transparency on what happens to the data it collects, and offers strict retention and deletion policies.Microsoft 365 Copilot, for example, keeps data inside your M365 tenant and honors your existing security controls (Entra ID, MFA, DLP, retention labels, Purview, etc.). This reduces the risk of data leakage while enabling powerful AI-driven productivity. If you’re using third-party AI tools, we can help you perform vendor risk assessments and configure them safely.

    AI also magnifies whatever access a user already has, including the rules you have in place in your own organization for accessing data. If a staff member shouldn’t have access to payroll data, they should not be able to surface payroll information through an AI query. Before AI rollout, businesses should:

    • Review least-privilege permissions
    • Ensure MFA and conditional access policies are enforced
    • Segment data appropriately using SharePoint, Teams, and role-based access
    • Audit legacy “wide-open” file shares that AI could unintentionally expose

    AI is not the risk, the access model behind it is.

    You should also create clear AI usage guidelines for your staff. Your employees will need explicit guidance on what they can and cannot put into AI systems.

    Your policy should require:

    • No uploading client PII, financial records, or confidential contracts into AI tools
    • Using only approved, business-managed AI platforms
    • Verification of outputs for accuracy and bias
    • Documentation when AI is used in client-facing deliverables
    • Guidance on storing or sharing AI-generated content

    AI governance is now part of basic digital hygiene, just like password policies. Implementing AI without the right guardrails can expose your business to:

    • Data leakage
    • Compliance violations
    • Intellectual property loss
    • Unauthorized data exposure
    • Shadow IT usage by well-intended employees

    That’s why it’s important to lean on a Managed Server Provider that understands the AI tools that are available and how to manage them, they can assist you in choosing secure AI tools and configuring them so they only access data that’s absolutely necessary to perform the tasks you’re looking for (and ensure that they’re not training on your private company data or exposing it to the outside world). They can incorporate AI strategies into their risk assessment process for your business and make sure the integrations you’re adding aren’t conflicting with any compliance doctrines your business must follow. They will also monitor for abnormalities and misuse in the same way that they protect your business from other day to day technological threats.

    By working with a competent provider you get the productivity benefits of AI, without introducing unnecessary risk. Ready to Adopt AI Safely? Valley Techlogic Can Help. AI is no longer optional for competitive businesses, but neither is data privacy. If you want to empower your staff with AI while keeping your sensitive information protected, Valley Techlogic is ready to guide you step-by-step. Learn more today with a consultation.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, leading provider of trouble free IT services for businesses in California including Merced, Fresno, Stockton & More. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on X at https://x.com/valleytechlogic and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/valley-techlogic-inc/.

  • Chat GTP-5 is here, and opinions are mixed, we talk new features and why some users say 4 was the better version

    Chat GTP-5 is here, and opinions are mixed, we talk new features and why some users say 4 was the better version

    We reported on ChatGTP-5, code named Project Strawberry at the time, nearly one year ago today. The reported update was supposed to boost reasoning capacity and begin the transition of introducing self-learning to AI versus requiring vast swaths of data scrubbed from the internet (a distinction likely aimed to combat the obvious problems when you randomly collect data from unknowing and many times unwilling sources).

    With a potentially industry changing copyright lawsuit filed just this week, the race to set AI apart as a distinct tool separate from the data it was built on is in full swing and as usual OpenAI’s ChatGPT product is leading the charge.

    New features include the ability to handle text ,images, voice and video all within a single conversation, so there’s no longer a need to switch between text chats and chats when you would like to analyze files. It’s also being reported so far that the answers users are receiving are more accurate, especially for technical questions and that it can now answer with much greater detail.

    Although it should be noted some of this improved reasoning is locked behind a paywall, with free users receiving the “basic” version of the model or ChatGPT-5 mini as dubbed by OpenAI themselves. Plus users will receive an improved version with one caveat, when load is high the company has said all users will only have access to the mini version to keep services afloat.

    It’s not all sunshine and rainbows however, some users aren’t thrilled with the update and have even requested the ability to return to Chat-GPT4. Common complaints are that Chat-GPT5 is much slower than 4 was and there is more frequent crashing (whether it be within the client itself or ChatGPT crashing user’s browser tabs).

    There have also been complaints that the model is more patronizing now, with users receiving praise for every query and even changing the personality or directly requesting it to leave the compliments out is outright is mostly ignored by the model at the time of reporting.

    We aren’t sure what the outcome of a successful copyright lawsuit will mean for the future of AI but as a technology provider we suspect it will stick around in some capacity regardless of the success or failure of ongoing litigation. While the creative uses for AI such as image generation may be more at play the key functionality for businesses as a means of increasing productivity are what we like to focus on. Here are three ways you can utilize AI in your business today:

    1. Inbox & customer-support copilot
      What it does: summarizes long threads, drafts tailored replies, and suggests next steps so you clear the queue quicker.
      Try this prompt (paste an email thread under it):
      “Summarize this thread in 3 bullets, list the customer’s main concern, and draft a friendly 120-word reply that (a) acknowledges the issue, (b) proposes a solution, and (c) offers a next step. Keep it on-brand: helpful, concise, no jargon.”
      Pro tip: Save a few tone/style notes once and reuse them for consistent replies.
    2. SOPs, checklists, and onboarding in minutes
      What it does: turns rough notes into step-by-step procedures, checklists, and quick-start guides for new hires.
      Try this prompt (paste your messy process notes):
      “Turn this into a clear SOP with: purpose, prerequisites, step-by-step actions (numbered), decision points, common pitfalls, and a 5-question quiz to confirm understanding. Make it skimmable.”
      Pro tip: Ask for a one-page version and a printable checklist for the wall.
    3. Spreadsheet/data sidekick (Excel/Sheets)
      What it does: writes formulas, cleans lists, and gives quick insights so you stop hunting Stack Overflow.
      Try this prompt (describe your sheet):
      “I have columns: Date, Lead Source, Deal Size, Status. Give me (1) a formula to count won deals per month, (2) a chart I should make and why, and (3) three insights I can present in one sentence each.”
      Pro tip: Paste a few sample rows so it can generate formulas that fit your exact layout.

    Ready to turn AI into real productivity? At Valley Techlogic, we can help you plug Chat GPT-5 into the tools you already use, Microsoft 365/Teams, Outlook, SharePoint (or Google Workspace so it drafts emails, turns rough notes into SOPs, and tames spreadsheets right where work happens. Learn more today with a consultation.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, leading provider of trouble free IT services for businesses in California including Merced, Fresno, Stockton & More. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on X at https://x.com/valleytechlogic and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/valley-techlogic-inc/.