GDPR and AI: What UK Businesses Need to Know
One of the first questions we get from UK businesses considering AI automation is: "What about GDPR?" It's a valid concern, and frankly, too many AI vendors hand-wave it away. Let's address it properly.
The Key Principles
GDPR doesn't ban the use of AI. It requires that you handle personal data responsibly, transparently, and with proper safeguards. The same principles that apply to any data processing apply to AI:
- Lawful basis: You need a legal reason to process personal data (consent, contract, legitimate interest, etc.).
- Purpose limitation: Only use data for the purpose you collected it for.
- Data minimisation: Don't process more data than you need.
- Transparency: People should know their data is being processed and how.
- Security: Appropriate technical measures to protect the data.
Where AI Gets Tricky
Automated decision-making
Under Article 22 of GDPR, individuals have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing that significantly affect them. If your AI is making decisions about people — approving loans, screening job applications, determining service eligibility — you need human oversight in the loop.
For most SME automation (invoice processing, email routing, report generation), this isn't an issue because the AI is handling administrative tasks, not making decisions about individuals.
Third-party AI services
If you're using AI tools that process data externally (like sending documents to an API for analysis), you need to understand where that data goes. Is it stored? Is it used to train models? Is it processed outside the UK?
This is one reason we're careful about which AI providers we use. We always ensure data processing stays within compliant jurisdictions and that no client data is used for model training.
Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs)
For any AI processing that could pose high risks to individuals' rights, you should conduct a DPIA. This documents what data you're processing, why, what the risks are, and how you're mitigating them. It's not as scary as it sounds — it's essentially a structured risk assessment.
Practical Steps for SMEs
- Audit your data flows: Before implementing any AI, understand what personal data you hold, where it lives, and how it moves through your systems.
- Choose UK/EU-based providers where possible: This simplifies compliance significantly. Data transfers outside the UK require additional safeguards.
- Keep humans in the loop: For any process that affects individuals, ensure there's meaningful human oversight, not just a rubber stamp.
- Document everything: Keep records of what AI tools you use, what data they process, and your rationale for using them.
- Update your privacy notices: If you're using AI to process customer data, your privacy policy should mention it.
- Review regularly: AI capabilities and regulations both evolve. Review your setup at least annually.
Our Approach
At Elevate AI, GDPR compliance isn't an afterthought — it's built into every project from the start. We're UK-based, we never train on your data, and we always design systems with data minimisation and proper access controls as defaults.
If you have specific questions about GDPR and AI for your business, get in touch. We're happy to discuss your situation, no strings attached.
