Welcome to the first post in our four-part series on AI best practices. Over the series, we'll cover:
- Why you shouldn't use the free version of an LLM for business (this post)
- Why you need an AI Acceptable Use Policy
- The difference between an LLM and an AI agent (agentic AI)
- Best practices for securing an agentic AI workstation
Let's start with the most important tip of all.
Don't Use the Free Version of an LLM for Business
If you're using AI for business purposes, do not use the free version of any large language model (LLM), whether that's ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, or another tool.
The reason is data privacy. With free consumer versions, the prompts you enter may be used to train the model by default. That means your prompts aren't treated as confidential, which is potentially very dangerous for your business.
For any business use, use a paid business plan.
The Benefits of a Paid LLM Plan
Paid business plans aren't free, but they're relatively inexpensive. Team plans for tools like ChatGPT and Claude typically run about $20 to $25 per user per month, often with a small minimum number of seats. Your costs may go up depending on what you're doing, but here's what you get in return:
- Better data privacy: Business plans generally don't use your company's data to train their models by default.
- Sharing across your team: Share prompts, projects, and agents with your coworkers so everyone benefits from what works.
- Smarter models: Choose from additional, more advanced models depending on the task.
- Better performance: Paid users get priority performance.
- Fewer limitations: Far less chance of running out of usage in the middle of your work.
- File uploads: Upload documents and files to work with directly.
Even with a Paid Plan, Protect Confidential Information
A paid plan is a big step up, but it isn't a free pass. Avoid entering any confidential information into an LLM, even with the paid version. If you need to upload files with highly confidential information, redact it before you upload.
Before you enter anything, ask yourself: "If this information got out in the wild, would it be bad?" If the answer is yes, don't include it.
Think about your Social Security number. It's supposed to be confidential, yet how many times have Social Security numbers been leaked in data breaches over the last five to ten years? Countless times. Bad things happen, and bad actors are out there. Treat even a paid LLM the same way. It's better not to put sensitive data there in the first place.
The Bottom Line
- Don't use the free version of any LLM for business.
- A paid plan gives you better privacy, team sharing, smarter models, better performance, fewer limits, and file uploads.
- Avoid entering confidential information, even with a paid plan.
- Redact sensitive data before uploading any files.
What's Next
In part two of this series, we cover what to include in an AI Acceptable Use Policy, the rules that keep your team using AI safely and consistently.
Need Help Setting Up AI in Your Company?
ADS Consulting Group can help you choose the right AI tools and roll them out securely. Email us at info@adscon.com or book a free discovery call.
Prefer video? Watch the full discussion on our YouTube channel.