Set up one assistant safely
- Pick one assistant and open its website
- Turn off the setting that lets chats improve its AI
- Practice with made-up details before opening business records
- Keep payment details, passwords and keys out
- Check the answer yourself before acting on it
You've closed for the day and want help with a payment question. Start with a made-up order, so a mistake won't become a message you send or a change to your books.
An AI assistant is a tool that writes answers from what you type. It can make mistakes. A prompt is what you type into it.
What stays out of chat?
Use made-up details for these exercises. Never paste:
- Full card numbers, security codes, PINs, or card expiry next to a number
- Bank account and routing numbers, tax IDs, identity documents
- Passwords, passkeys, recovery codes, one-time codes, security answers
- API keys, secret keys, access tokens
- Customer details the task doesn't need: names, emails, phone numbers, addresses, account numbers
An API key is a code software uses to connect to an account. Keep it out, even if the assistant asks for it.
Keep these rules beside you:
- Check the data setting before your first real question
- AI explains and drafts. You decide
- Check every deadline, fee, rule and number against your provider or this site
- Never ask it to create, change or "improve" evidence
PCI rules still apply when you use AI. Keep card data out of chat tools. PCI SSC's AI guidance explains the applicable duties. This isn't legal advice.
Which assistant should I open?
Pick ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. There's no wrong choice for this practice. You only need one account.
These steps are for an adult's personal account on a computer. If you've got a work account, ask whoever manages it which rules apply before using it for business. There's more on work accounts below.
Leave files, photos and connected apps alone today. You won't need to give an assistant access to your shop.
Made-up example: an online shop has Order #1043 for customer J. for $84.00. None of these details belongs to a real customer. You'll ask the assistant to repeat them, then check whether it added anything.
Menus can change. If yours looks different, open that service's help page and check the setting name before you continue.
These apps can carry details from one chat to another. Their temporary options limit that in different ways, and a safety copy may still be kept. Check the note under your app before sharing anything real.
ChatGPT
Open ChatGPT. Choose Sign up for free and follow the account steps. There's a free plan with limits on use and tools. VENDOR Free account details.
Find the setting that controls whether your chats help improve OpenAI's AI. Open your account menu, then Settings and Data controls. Turn Improve the model for everyone off. Select Done. Turning it off doesn't delete your chat history. VENDOR Data Controls help.
For this practice, open a new chat, select Temporary, then choose Unpersonalized before you send your first message. That leaves saved memories, custom instructions and plugins out. A temporary chat stays out of your history, doesn't create memories and isn't used for training while it stays temporary. OpenAI may keep a copy for up to 30 days for safety. If you save it, it becomes a regular chat. VENDOR Temporary Chat help.
If you rate an answer with thumbs up or down, OpenAI may use the conversation to improve its models even after you've turned that setting off. Leave business details out of any feedback you send. VENDOR OpenAI's data-use help.
Prompt:
This is a made-up example.
An online shop has Order #1043 for customer J. for $84.00.
The customer says the package hasn't arrived.
Repeat those details in three short points.
Don't add a fee or deadline.
Check it: Compare the answer with the details you supplied. Did it keep the order number and amount without adding a fee or deadline? Confirm your privacy choice in Data Controls before using real details.
Claude
Go to Claude and follow the account steps. The free plan limits how much you can use it. VENDOR Account entry, free-plan help.
Check the setting that controls whether chats help improve Anthropic's AI. Open your name menu, then Settings and Privacy. Turn Help Improve our AI models off. Anthropic may still use flagged conversations for safety work. VENDOR Privacy-setting help.
Claude calls its temporary option Incognito. A project groups related chats and files. Start a fresh chat from the regular chat list, not inside a project. VENDOR Claude Projects help. Click the ghost icon at the upper right. Look for Incognito chat before typing. It isn't saved to history or chat memory, or used for training. Chats are kept for 30 days by default. Enterprise custom retention settings can keep them longer. Your profile and style choices may still affect a reply. VENDOR Incognito help.
Don't treat opt-out as a secrecy promise. Anthropic says feedback may be used and related conversations can be retained for up to five years. Its help page doesn't say whether the model-improvement opt-out changes feedback use. Leave business details out of feedback. VENDOR Data-use help.
Prompt:
This is a made-up example.
An online shop has Order #1043 for customer J. for $84.00.
The customer says the package hasn't arrived.
Repeat those details in three short points.
Don't add a fee or deadline.
Check it: Read the answer beside the made-up order. A changed amount or extra fact needs correcting. Ask for a revision if needed. Use Claude's privacy help to confirm the setting before any real question.
Gemini
Open Gemini and sign in with a personal Google Account. If you haven't got one, follow the account-creation steps from sign-in. There's a free plan with limits on use and tools. VENDOR Account help, plan details.
Find Keep Activity, the setting that controls saved chats and AI improvement. Open Settings & help, then Activity. Near the top, click On, then Turn off. If it already says Off, leave it there. VENDOR Activity help.
Before typing, click Temporary chat beside New chat. This option needs a personal account. It stays out of recent chats and isn't used to train Google's AI models. Google keeps temporary chats for 72 hours for service and safety. Human safety review can still apply. VENDOR Temporary chat steps, data handling.
Don't treat opt-out as a secrecy promise. Regular-chat feedback can include chats when Keep Activity is off. Temporary chats don't offer feedback. Leave business details out of reports. VENDOR Data-use help, temporary chat limits.
Prompt:
This is a made-up example.
An online shop has Order #1043 for customer J. for $84.00.
The customer says the package hasn't arrived.
Repeat those details in three short points.
Don't add a fee or deadline.
Check it: Look for anything you didn't supply. The assistant hasn't looked up a real order. Correct any changed detail and try again. Check that Keep Activity is off using Google's activity help.
Ready for your own case?
Once you've checked the data setting in the assistant you picked, swap the made-up details for yours. Keep names, card numbers and account numbers out:
This is a real case with private details removed.
An online shop has Order [your order number] for [amount].
The customer says: [what the customer says].
Repeat those details in three short points.
Don't add a fee or deadline.
Your first three prompts
Stay with the assistant you've opened. If it needs a fact you haven't supplied, ask it to ask you up to three questions before answering. That doesn't mean you should share more private details.
Your payment processor is the company that handles card payments. A payout is money sent to your bank.
What does this fee mean?
You've seen the words "processing fee" on a statement. Try the term alone, without uploading the statement or asking the assistant to guess what your provider charged.
Prompt:
This is a made-up practice for an online shop.
Explain "processing fee" in three short points.
Use plain words for someone taking card payments.
Don't guess a rate or my provider's terms.
Tell me what I'd need to check on a real statement.
Check it: Compare the explanation with the fee line on your statement, outside the chat. Ask your provider about anything that doesn't match. If this is your first statement, use Reading Your Processor Statements to find the fee lines.
Which records would explain a payout?
It's closing time at a made-up bakery. A payout of $1,240.00 is on the screen, but the owner hasn't compared it with sales or the bank deposit. An assistant can suggest what to collect. It can't explain the payout from that amount alone.
Keep real bank details and statements closed for this exercise.
Prompt:
A made-up bakery has a payout of $1,240.00.
I haven't supplied sales records or a processor report.
Give me a short checklist of records to compare.
Ask me up to three questions first if you need more facts.
Don't invent sales totals, fees or reasons for a difference.
Mark what you can't tell from this amount alone.
Check it: Compare the same period in your sales system, provider report and bank records. Ask your provider about unclear entries. A bookkeeper checks any correction. Use the three-way match to organize the comparison.
How do I ask my processor about it?
The bakery owner wants to know which sales the payout covers. Draft that question before contacting support. Leave the real account reference out of the chat.
Prompt:
Write a short practice note from a made-up bakery to its processor.
Ask which sales a $1,240.00 payout covers and where to find its fee breakdown.
Don't claim money is late, held or owed.
Don't invent an account reference or release date.
If the note rambles, give it one follow-up:
Make it shorter.
Remove any claim I didn't supply.
Check it: Check every sentence against the matching records. Send a real question through your provider's known support channel to confirm which sales and fees the payout covers. Use the reconciliation guide to organize those records.
What if I've got a work account?
Paying for a personal plan doesn't make it a work account. If you set up Google Workspace for your shop, you're usually its admin. If you aren't sure which edition or Gemini terms apply, keep practicing with made-up details in a Temporary chat on a personal Google Account. Google says Temporary chat isn't available on work or school accounts. VENDOR Google's Temporary chat help. Check your Workspace terms before entering business details.
ChatGPT Business keeps workspace data out of training by default. VENDOR OpenAI's business data rules. Claude's commercial plans exclude chats from training by default, with feedback or permission exceptions. VENDOR Anthropic's commercial data rules.
For Gemini, ask whether your Workspace edition includes it as a core service, covered by that edition's work-account terms. Those chats aren't human-reviewed or used to improve Google's AI models. Additional-service accounts have different terms. VENDOR Google's work-account rules. Don't assume any work plan deletes chats instantly. Keep the same never-paste rules.
Before your first real question
Keep using made-up details until you can remove private information safely. A statement or screenshot may show customer and account details beyond the line you're asking about. Keep the original outside the chat.
If the answer gives a fee, deadline or rule, open its source yourself. If you can't confirm it, don't act on it.
Ready for a real task? Pick it from the task list, such as a dispute over a deposit you kept.
Next Steps
- Reading Your Processor Statements walks through a first statement
- Read your processing statement in more detail to find the fee lines
- Match a payout to your records before asking why figures differ
Sources
| Source | Supports | Kind | Access date |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT Free | Account creation, free plan and usage limits | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| ChatGPT Data Controls | Training control and its web path | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| ChatGPT Temporary Chat | Starting temporary chat, history, training and retention | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| OpenAI model improvement | Personal feedback exception; business default | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Get started with Claude | Free plan and usage limits | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Claude sign-in | Account entry point | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Claude Projects | Projects group chats, project knowledge and instructions | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Claude model improvement setting | Training control, web path and safety exception | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Claude Incognito | Starting Incognito, history, training and retention | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Claude consumer data use | Feedback use and retention; opt-out interaction unstated | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Claude commercial data use | Business default and feedback exception | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Gemini subscriptions | Free plan and usage limits | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Use Gemini Apps | Google Account and personal-account temporary chat steps | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Gemini activity controls | Keep Activity web path | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Gemini Privacy Hub | Training, feedback, safety processing and 72-hour retention | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| Gemini work-account help | Eligible Workspace core-service data treatment | VENDOR | 2026-10-22 |
| PCI SSC AI principles | Applicable PCI duties and sensitive-data precautions | PRIMARY | 2026-10-22 |
| Read your processing statement | Statement terms and fee lines | SITE | 2026-10-22 |
| Reconciliation | Sales, processor and bank records to compare | SITE | 2026-10-22 |
| Reading Your Processor Statements | Beginner statement walkthrough | SITE | 2026-10-22 |
| PCI DSS overview | Payment-data security requirements | PRIMARY | 2026-10-22 |