Data Privacy in Chat | Yext Hitchhikers Platform
Where does my data go when I use Yext Chat?
When you send data to the Yext Chat API, we process it using large language models (LLMs).
Currently, we use LLMs provided by Open AI via their API . After processing the data, OpenAI sends it back to Yext for further processing.
Additionally, if you’ve integrated Yext Chat with other systems using serverless functions and REST APIs, data will be sent to those platforms as well (but only the data you’ve explicitly configured to be sent). Using serverless functions and REST APIs is completely opt-in and depends on the configuration of your chat bot.
Lastly, data that is sent to the Yext Chat API is logged by Yext. These logs are visible to you in the Response Logs section of the platform. The response logs allow you to view the history of the conversations with Yext Chat, as well as the individual prompts that were sent to Open AI’s LLMs.
What AI models are you using?
At the moment, Yext Chat uses Open AI’s GPT-3.5 model, which is the same model that powers ChatGPT. As new versions of GPT-3.5 roll out, Yext Chat periodically upgrades to take advantage of newer versions and their features.
In the future, we may use different models and even provide clients with the ability to choose which LLM provider they want to use. However, as of this writing at the end of June 2023, this is not configurable and Yext Chat only uses OpenAI’s GPT-3.5 models.
What does Open AI do with my data?
The data sent to OpenAI is subject to Open AI’s API Data Usage Policies .
This policy (which we last checked at end of June 2023) states the following:
OpenAI will not use data submitted by clients via our API to train or improve our models, unless you explicitly decide to share your data with us for this purpose. You can opt-in to share data .
Any data sent through the API will be retained for abuse and misuse monitoring purposes for a maximum of 30 days, after which it will be deleted (unless otherwise required by law).
Yext has not opted into sharing data with OpenAI. This means that the data Yext sends to OpenAI is not shared with any other OpenAI clients, nor is it used in any way to train or improve OpenAI’s models. The data is only retained for the purpose monitoring of abuse and misuse, and it is deleted within 30 days.
Note that, as of this writing at the end of June 2023, the data centers used by OpenAI are in the United States.
What data does Yext collect and why?
Yext logs the details associated with each Chat API request and makes them visible in the Response Logs section of the platform. This includes…
- The conversation history
- Data retrieved from Yext Search or other third party APIs
- Metadata passed to the API
- LLM prompts sent to Open AI, along with their responses
The primary purpose of logging this data is to allow users to debug the chat bot’s behavior and have visibility into its inner workings. Additionally, Yext’s engineering team may access this data in order to troubleshoot issues. Lastly, Logs from one Yext client are not visible to any other Yext client.
In addition to the responses themselves, Yext Chat also optionally records data about the user’s interaction with the bot. Here is the list of events that Yext Chat can log:
- Chat Impressions: When someone has the opportunity to interact with the chat bot (i.e. when the chat bot is rendered on the screen).
- Link Clinks: Any time a user clicks on a link that the chat bot rendered in a response.
- Thumbs Up/Down: When a user presses the thumbs up or down button on a specific message from the bot.
You can opt out of sending these additional analytics events using the Yext Chat SDKs or script tag integration. These events are sent by via POST requests to the Yext Analytics Events API.
Is personal data needed to interact with Yext Chat?
In order to interact with Yext Chat, users do not need to share personal data in their conversations. Depending on what you’re using Yext Chat for, it may not be necessary to ask for personal data as part of the conversation. Additionally, you could configure Yext Chat to ask for consent before asking for personal data as part of the conversation with users.
Does Yext Chat use cookies or similar technologies?
Yext Chat can optionally be configured to use
session storage
to save a user’s conversations with the bot and reload them as the user navigates to different pages on the website. The session storage is considered necessary as it is essential to the functioning of Chat and it facilitates a user’s experience navigating to new pages on the client’s website. Without this, the conversation in Chat will be reset with each new page of the client’s website which is loaded. This setting can be activated/deactivated using the saveToSessionStorage property in the Yext Chat SDKs and script tag integration.
Yext Chat can also optionally be configured with an SDK, the purpose of which is to provide analytics to the client. Specifically, Yext Chat can record data about the user’s interaction with the bot. Here is the list of events that Yext Chat can log:
- Chat Impressions: When someone has the opportunity to interact with the chat bot (i.e. when the chat bot is rendered on the screen).
- Link Clinks: Any time a user clicks on a link that the chat bot rendered in a response.
- Thumbs Up/Down: When a user presses the thumbs up or down button on a specific message from the bot.
You can opt out of sending these additional analytics events using the Yext Chat SDKs or script tag integration.
Both the session storage and the aforementioned SDK may be integrated into a client’s consent management platform.