Staying Secure with AI: What Small Businesses Should Know
October 16, 2025
From restaurants managing reservations to hair salons personalizing marketing emails, artificial intelligence is becoming a regular part of how small businesses get work done.
During , faculty at the Ourso College are sharing guidance to help business owners take advantage of these tools while keeping their data safe.
Understand the Tools You Use
AI tools are built for different purposes. Some help create written content or graphics, while others analyze data or help with coding. Choosing the right tool for the task helps improve results and reduces the risk of exposing sensitive information. Before adopting any AI platform, take a moment to review its privacy and data-handling policies to see how your information is stored, shared, or used to train future models.
Be Selective About What You Share
A. J. Burns, associate professor in the 海角社区 Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship & Information Systems, notes that many AI systems learn from user interactions. 鈥淲hile this improves the model for everyone, it also raises concerns around privacy and intellectual property 鈥� for free [AI services], the default is for interactions to be used to improve the model.鈥� This can be helpful for AI companies improving their models, but risky for your business if you鈥檙e entering proprietary data like customer lists or pricing strategies. Burns suggests starting with low-risk or public information and keeping private details out of AI tools whenever possible. Paid or enterprise versions often allow you to restrict how your data is used, providing an extra layer of protection.
Work Securely with Vendors
Outsourcing services such as accounting, marketing, or legal support can make sense for smaller companies, but it also means trusting others with sensitive information. Burns recommends confirming how vendors that use AI manage your company鈥檚 data and updating business agreements to include clear terms about AI use and security expectations. Setting up a Data Processing Agreement can help outline how data will be stored, who can access it, and for what purpose. Establishing these details in advance creates accountability and safeguards your business information.
Smart AI Practices for Small Businesses
Even as technology evolves, many of the same cybersecurity basics still apply. Burns recommends that small businesses keep these key habits in mind when incorporating AI into their daily work:
- Start small. Use AI for routine, low-risk tasks such as creating templates or drafting simple content.
- Limit what you share. Only provide the minimum amount of data needed for the task.
- Scrub sensitive details. Redact or summarize information before uploading anything to an AI tool.
- Verify the results. Review AI-generated output carefully for accuracy, logical reasoning, or bias.
- Set clear expectations. Create internal policies that outline how employees should use AI and what to avoid.
Balancing Opportunity and Risk
AI gives small businesses the chance to work smarter, save time, encourage creativity, and support better decision-making. The key is to use these tools responsibly. Staying informed about how AI systems handle data, setting clear internal policies, and communicating with employees and vendors about security can help prevent problems before they occur.
For additional tips and resources during Cybersecurity Awareness Month, consider visiting the 海角社区 Cybersecurity Clinic. The clinic, a collaborative effort between the University and the Louisiana Small Business Development Center (LSBDC) funded by the NSA, extends access to pro bono cybersecurity clinic services to small businesses that otherwise cannot afford to hire a consultant.