What is PII?
PII (personally identifiable information) is data that points at a specific person: name plus phone, email, address, account number, or a photo that identifies them. A first name alone in a reminder you send on purpose is different from a spreadsheet of members dropped into a chat.
Also called: personally identifiable information
In plain English
If you would not pin it on the bulletin board, do not paste the column into an AI tool. Member lists, driver's license numbers, and kids' birthdays are PII. A draft that says 'remind Alex about Tuesday' can be fine if Alex and Tuesday came from your system and the tool is one you approved.
How an owner would use it
Decide the columns that never get pasted: payment numbers, government IDs, health notes, full member exports. Let the model see the one row it needs, or see none of the identity and only the task. This is not a legal definition for every country. If you are unsure, leave it out.
Common mistakes
Anonymizing by deleting the header row and keeping the data is not anonymizing. Initials plus a rare class time can still point at a person. Do not paste card numbers to categorize a bank line. Do not test with a real export because it was handy. Redaction is the step that strips this before a prompt, and it belongs in the workflow, not in a hope.
A worked example
A neighborhood gym
One member's reminder, not the whole export
This is an illustration, not a customer result. The front desk drafts a class reminder with the first name and the class time from the booking screen. They do not upload the membership spreadsheet to ask for 'a friendly campaign.' Billing stays in the billing system.
Related terms
Prompts and guides
Questions owners ask
What is PII?
PII is information that identifies a person, such as a name combined with contact details, an account number, or a government ID.
How do I use AI without spreading PII?
Paste the minimum for one task in an approved tool, or paste no identity at all. Keep full lists in the system that already secures them.
Is a business name PII?
A company name usually is not PII. The owner's home address, personal cell, and customer list attached to that business can be. When in doubt, leave the personal fields out.
Product guides are on AI apps for business.