Is ChatGPT GDPR safe?

How to ensure GDPR compliance when using AI tools

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT can accelerate growth, but if you’re not careful, they can also accelerate risk. For businesses subject to GDPR, especially those in e-commerce, customer service, or marketing automation, the challenge isn’t just about what these tools can do, but how they do it.

Can you really trust ChatGPT with customer data? Does Claude meet GDPR’s transparency requirements? What happens if Gemini or Perplexity logs personal data for model improvement?

To use these tools responsibly, you need more than a privacy policy. You require a clear strategy for compliance — one that ensures personal data is processed lawfully, transparently, and with user consent at every step. However, before delving into our breakdown of how to use AI under GDPR, to understand what consists of safe AI for European businesses, let’s first understand what this essential data privacy and security law requires.

What does GDPR actually require?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) applies whenever you process the personal data of EU citizens — whether you’re an EU‑based e‑commerce manager, a U.S. IT lead with an EU customer base, or an agency building AI workflows for clients in the EU. Key principles especially relevant to AI usage include:

• Data minimization: Only process what’s strictly necessary for your purpose.
• Purpose limitation: Use data only for the objectives you’ve declared.
• Consent & transparency: Inform data subjects how their data will be used, and secure their affirmative opt‑in.
• Right to erasure: Be prepared to delete data on request (“right to be forgotten”).
• Accountability & auditability: Maintain records (e.g., logs of data transmissions) to demonstrate compliance.

In terms of how to use AI under GDPR, sending personal data to an AI’s API, whether to use a customer’s email or order history within a prompt, counts as “processing” under GDPR’s definitions. This means if personal data — like names, emails, or addresses — flows into ChatGPT, Claude, or any other tool, you’re on the hook to ensure it’s handled lawfully. Without safeguards, you’re not just risking a slap on the wrist — you’re courting serious trouble.

Is ChatGPT GDPR safe?

ChatGPT’s conversational prowess is undeniable, but its GDPR status is less clear-cut. As of July 2025, OpenAI hasn’t secured a formal GDPR certification, while OpenAI states that ChatGPT has been built with GDPR compliance in mind. EU regulators have raised eyebrows over its data practices, particularly how prompts might be logged or used to train models.

• Data retention & training: By default, consumer ChatGPT (Free, Plus, Pro) retains conversations for 30 days before deletion and may use prompts and outputs to train its models — even after you hit “delete” (unless you’re on its special enterprise plan).
• Enterprise opt‑outs: ChatGPT Enterprise customers can configure zero data retention, preventing OpenAI from storing or training on any business data.
• EU regulation concerns: In terms of GDPR and ChatGPT, EU regulators have flagged concerns over OpenAI’s privacy practices, especially around PII in prompts.
• Regulatory scrutiny: A recent U.S. court order requires indefinite retention of deleted chats for consumer tiers in an NYT lawsuit, which bring the usual 30‑day deletion policy into question and triggers GDPR conflict concerns. This idea of indefinite prompt logging clashes with GDPR’s storage‑limitation principle.

Bottom line: ChatGPT is partially safe, but only with strict safeguards — never feed PII into free/pro tiers; opt for Enterprise with zero retention; and continuously monitor policy changes.

Does Claude comply with GDPR?

Claude, built by Anthropic, takes a different tack. With its “Constitutional AI” approach, it’s designed to prioritize safety and privacy. Anthropic claims Claude doesn’t train on user-submitted data unless you explicitly opt in (e.g., via feedback submissions), which is a big plus for Claude GDPR compliance. They also offer data deletion options and enterprise-grade APIs with stronger privacy assurances.

• Privacy-forward by design: As mentioned, Claude does not train on user-submitted data by default and offers strong privacy controls, including data deletion and customizable privacy settings.
• Data retention & deletion: Offering encryption in transit and at rest, Anthropic employees cannot access conversations unless you choose to share them for feedback. Enterprise customers get tailored retention policies with deletion controls.
• Certifications & code of conduct: While Anthropic hasn’t announced an EU‑approved GDPR certification or EU Cloud Code of Conduct membership, its “privacy‑by‑default” stance positions it ahead of many peers. But you must still sign a robust Data Processing Addendum (DPA) and ensure you have an EU representative if you’re non‑EU based.

Bottom line: More privacy‑aligned than most, but due diligence on contractual terms (DPA, location of processing) is essential.

What is the Gemini AI GDPR status?

Google’s Gemini integrates with the Google Cloud ecosystem, which is a GDPR-compliant powerhouse. Using Gemini through Vertex AI, you get enterprise-grade controls — like selecting where data is processed to meet residency rules. That’s a big win for the Gemini AI GDPR status.

• Enterprise via Vertex AI: When you use Gemini models through Google Cloud’s Vertex AI, your data stays in your chosen region, benefits from Google’s ISO 27001/27701 certifications, and is not used for further training unless you opt in as part of a trusted‑tester program.
• Workspace integration: Gemini in Google Workspace inherits your organization’s existing security controls. It conducts no human review of your prompts, and no cross‑customer data sharing without permission.
• Consumer versions (e.g., gemini.google.com): May log interactions for up to 72 hours, and human review is possible, raising privacy concerns for sensitive data.

Bottom line: Google Gemini is GDPR compliant and safe AI for European businesses only when deployed via enterprise Google Cloud or Workspace. Consumer-facing versions are not recommended for GDPR-sensitive use cases.

Is Perplexity safe to use in the EU and GDPR compliant?

Perplexity AI, a real-time, search-friendly AI assistant, is newer to the scene. As of July 2025, its privacy story is thin. There’s no robust enterprise privacy documentation, and it likely stores prompts for model tuning, which is bad news if PII sneaks in. It’s not built with sensitive data in mind, and Perplexity hasn’t made bold privacy commitments like Anthropic or Google. However, its help center does mention that “Perplexity is committed to GDPR compliance, providing clear ways for users to understand and exercise their rights.”

• Certifies to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework (DPF): This is a positive step but does not equate to full GDPR compliance for all use cases.
• Enterprise Pro: SOC 2 Type II compliant, with advanced admin controls and privacy protections for business customers.
• Free and Pro versions: May log prompts for model improvement; privacy documentation for enterprise use is still evolving.
• Not intended for sensitive PII: Perplexity’s consumer tools are not recommended for processing personal data under GDPR.

Bottom line: Currently not ideal for GDPR compliance; only Perplexity’s enterprise offerings are close to GDPR-ready, and even then, careful configuration is required.

Want to get a more comparative analysis of using these popular AI tools for business automation? Read our blog on Claude vs. ChatGPT for AI assistant automation →

The risks of using AI without safeguards

The consequences of getting GDPR wrong are brutal for enterprises. If your AI handles customer support, product recommendations, or internal comms with PII, you’re a data controller under GDPR. That makes you liable for how the AI processes or stores that data.

The penalty for violating GDPR regulations results in:

• Fines: Up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 million — whichever hurts more.
• Reputation hits: A privacy scandal can tank customer trust overnight.
• Breach headaches: The need to notify regulators and affected users means a waste of time and money.

Best practices for how to use AI under GDPR

When creating strategies and roadmaps for how to ensure GDPR compliance when using AI tools, here are some essential practices to include:

1. Scrub PII from prompts: Remove names, emails, and addresses from prompts. Use anonymized or tokenized data instead.
2. Pick opt-out vendors: Prioritize tools that provide enterprise editions that let you block prompt logging.
3. Log consents: Prove with auditable records that you’ve got user permissions for using their data.
4. Add a middleware: A next-gen, API-driven middleware like the Alumio iPaaS (Integration Platform as a Service) can filter data before it hits AI tools, enforcing compliance systematically. Some European-based iPaaS tools like Alumio also offer logging, monitoring, and audit trails to help ensure GDPR compliance.

By following these best practices, you reduce the risk—but implementing them consistently across multiple AI tools is where many businesses struggle. Once more, that’s where a purpose-built integration layer like Alumio comes in.

How to use AI under GDPR securely with the Alumio iPaaS

The Alumio iPaaS (integration Platform as a Service) is a cloud-native, API-driven middleware solution that makes it easy to connect multiple applications, data sources, and AI solutions. Providing a user‑friendly, config‑first interface to create, manage, and monitor integrations without custom code, it provide a rich library of Connectors for ERP, e-commerce, PIM, CRM, and even popular AI solutions like OpenAI, Gemini, Cluade etc.

Enabling complex workflow automation, advanced data transformation, and comprehensive logging and monitoring features, the Alumio iPaaS designed to ensure GDPR compliance with integrations. Sitting between your systems and AI tools, the Alumio integration platform gives you granular control over data flows, providing you with tools needed to enable compliance methods, such as:

• Data masking: Filter out sensitive fields before they reach ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini.
• Consent-based routing: Only send data when users opt in.
• Audit trails: Alumio logs all user actions and data exchange for compliance reporting.
• Low-code flexibility: Tweak workflows as rules evolve — no dev team required.

For example, take product data enrichment: you want Claude or ChatGPT to polish descriptions, but lots of customer info is mixed in. The Alumio iPaaS provides transformers that can be configured to remove PII data and send only compliance-proof, clean data from your business applications to AI solutions.

Want to learn about how the Alumio iPaaS boosts compliance? Read our post on how the Alumio iPaaS is ISO 27001 certified and ensures GDPR compliance →

Privacy-first AI is possible with the right platform

GDPR isn’t just a regulatory hurdle—it’s a design principle. It challenges businesses to rethink how data is collected, processed, and shared, especially when AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity enter the tech stack. The question isn’t simply whether these tools are GDPR-compliant out of the box (most aren’t); it’s whether your workflows are built to uphold privacy, transparency, and user consent at every step. The organizations that thrive won’t be the ones that use AI the most — but the ones that use it wisely, with clear governance and accountability.

That’s where a platform like Alumio becomes essential. Rather than patching privacy in later, Alumio embeds compliance into the integration itself — masking data, enforcing consent, and logging every interaction. It empowers you to connect your AI tools to core systems confidently, without risking GDPR violations or customer trust. As the AI landscape evolves and regulation tightens, privacy-first AI isn’t just possible — it’s a competitive advantage. The smart move? Start integrating it now securely with the right platform.