When ChatGPT was first released to the public, several corporate titans, from Apple to Verizon, made headlines when they announced bans on the use of this software at work shortly after it was introduced. However, a recent study confirms that those companies are not anomalous. 

It has recently been reported that more than 1 in 4 companies have banned the use of generative artificial intelligence tools at work at some point in time, based on a Cisco survey conducted last summer among 2,600 privacy and security professionals. 

According to the survey, 63% of respondents said that they limit the amount of data employees can enter into these systems, and 61% said that they restrict which generative AI tools employees can use within their organizations. Approximately one-quarter of companies have banned their employees from using generative artificial intelligence, according to a new Cisco survey. 

Based on the annual Data Privacy Benchmark Study, conducted by the firm, a survey of 2,600 privacy and security professionals across 12 countries, two-thirds of those surveyed impose restrictions on the types of information that can be entered into LLM-based systems, as well as prohibiting specific applications from being used. 

According to Robert Waitman, director of Cisco's Privacy Center of Excellence, who wrote a blog post about the survey, over two-thirds of respondents expressed concern that their data would be disclosed to competitors or the public, a concern that may not be met by the majority. The information they entered about the company was not entirely public (48% of the respondents), which could pose a problem. 

There are a lot of concerns about the use of AI that involves their data today, and 91% of organizations are aware that they need to do more to make sure customers feel confident that their data is used for the intended and legitimate purposes in AI. There has been little progress in building consumer trust over the past year as this level is similar to last year's level, suggesting that not much progress has been made. 

Organizations' priorities differ from individuals' when it comes to building consumer trust. As a consumer, one of the most important things to be concerned about is getting clear information about exactly how their data is being used and not having it sold to marketers. A survey of businesses conducted by the American Association of Professionals revealed that compliance with privacy laws is the top priority (25%) along with avoiding data breaches (23%). 

Furthermore, it indicates that a greater focus on transparency would be beneficial — particularly in AI applications, where understanding how algorithms make decisions can be difficult. Over the past five years, there has been a more than double increase in privacy spending, a rise in benefits, and a steady return on investment. 

It was reported this year that 95% of respondents indicated that privacy benefits outweigh the costs, with an average organization reporting 1.6 times the return on investment they received from privacy. Additionally, 80% of respondents indicated they had benefited from their privacy investments in terms of higher levels of loyalty and trust, and that number was even higher (92%) among the most privacy-aware organizations. 

Since last year, the largest organizations with 10,000+ employees have increased their privacy spending by around 7-8% in terms of their spending on privacy. The number of investments was lower for smaller organizations, however. The average privacy investment for businesses with 50-249 employees was decreased by a fourth on average than that for businesses with 50-499 employees. 

“The survey results revealed that 94% of respondents would not buy from Cisco if they did not adequately protect their customers' data. According to Harvey Jang, Cisco Vice President and Chief Privacy Officer, “Customers are looking for hard evidence that an organization can be trusted.” 

Privacy has become inextricably linked with customer trust and loyalty. Investing in privacy can help organizations leverage AI ethically and responsibly in the era of AI, and this is especially true as AI becomes more prevalent.