Key Takeaways

  • File search finds file names. AI search on your own documents finds answers and shows you the source.
  • Four questions decide whether it's safe: where data is processed, whether it trains anyone's models, who can see what, and what gets logged.
  • Your existing access rights should carry over, so nobody sees more than they can see today.
  • Answers must come from your documents and show their source. If nothing turns up, the system has to say so.
  • Start with a few folders and real questions from your team, and check the answers against the sources.

Why file search doesn't find answers

Over the years every company collects contracts, quotes, minutes, templates and internal rules. The search in your file system matches words in file names and, if you're lucky, in the text. It can't answer a question like “which notice period did we agree with this client?” or “how did we handle this at the last year-end?”. So you ask the colleague who's been there longest, and the knowledge stays in people's heads.

How AI search on your own documents works

The idea is simple. The system indexes your documents so it can find passages that match a question by meaning, even when the exact words differ. When you ask something, it pulls out the relevant passages and writes an answer from those alone, with links to the documents it used so you can check. It reads your files for you and doesn't guess from general knowledge. If it finds nothing relevant, a well-built system tells you so instead of making up an answer.

The four questions that decide whether it's safe

  1. Where is the data processed and stored?Which provider, which region, which contract. For many Swiss companies, hosting in Switzerland or the EU is a requirement, so make it a deliberate choice and don't just accept the default.
  2. Is it used for training?Your documents must not be used to train anyone else's models. Look for that in the provider's contract terms, because a promise in a sales meeting isn't enough.
  3. Who can see what?The access rights you already have, by team, client or matter, should carry over. Nobody should be able to find something through the assistant that they couldn't open in the folder.
  4. What gets logged?Questions and answers can contain sensitive information too. Decide what you store, for how long, and who can read it.

Data protection and professional secrecy

The revised Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection, in force since September 2023, applies to personal data in your documents just as it does anywhere else. You need to know what you process, where and why, and write it down. Law firms and fiduciaries also have professional secrecy to protect, which sets a higher bar for where client data may go. This article isn't legal advice. If you work in a regulated profession, have the set-up reviewed against your professional rules. A good provider will welcome that.

Before a confidential document goes into an AI, you should know where it goes, who can see it and what happens to it afterwards.

Start small and check the answers

You don't need to tidy up years of folders first. Choose a few folders that answer questions your team asks every week, write down those real questions, and test whether the answers are right and properly sourced. A pilot like this shows you the value and the gaps, and often which folders are worth cleaning up. Our guardrails checklist covers the wider rules for using AI safely.

The company knowledge page shows what this looks like for law firms, fiduciaries, property managers and trades. If you'd like to go through your own set-up, get in touch with Artifex.