More than half of U.S. adults reported using AI chatbots in a June 2026 Pew Research Survey, and New York State released guidance Monday on some of the information you should not be sharing.
The New York Department of State's Division of Consumer Protection strongly urged residents to avoid divulging sensitive personal information — such as your social security number, birthday or medical diagnosis — to chatbots such as ChatGPT, Grok or Gemini.
"It is important to assume that any information given to an AI chatbot will be collected and used for training and could be viewed by a human reviewer or hacked," the guidance read.
Here's the full list of information the division suggested not to share:
- Personal identifying information (SSN, Name, Address, Birth Dates, etc.)
- Financial information (account numbers, etc.)
- Health information (medical diagnosis, lab results, etc.)
- Legal documents
- Usernames or passwords
The guidance suggested checking the settings of the chatbot to see if it allows an opt-out from having your future data saved.
The Pew Research Survey reported that 51% of responding American adults use chatbots, with 25% using AI tools daily.