Ensuring security in your AI-powered ecommerce customer support

Imagine a scenario where your e-commerce business suffers a data breach, exposing thousands of customers’ sensitive information. The cascading effects are daunting:

• The hit to your bottom line: According to IBM, the average data breach in 2023 cost $4.45 million. These breaches are generally costly for several reasons, including downtime, legal fees, and increased cyber insurance premiums.

• The hit to your reputation: According to a survey by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP), over 80% of consumers worldwide are unlikely to do business with companies that have been victims of a cyberattack. Therefore, regaining shoppers’ trust might be out of the equation altogether.

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When partnering with an artificial intelligence (AI) vendor to enhance your e-commerce customer experience (CX), it’s crucial to consider not only their ability to meet key performance indicators (KPIs) and integrate seamlessly but also how they store and manage your customers’ data.

In this blog, we’ll explore the significance of data security in AI and detail what you should look for in a vendor.

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5 reasons why data security is pivotal in AI CX

As AI continues to revolutionize e-commerce CX, data security has taken center stage. AI agents process vast amounts of data — shopping habits, personal information, payment details, and more — to deliver accurate and timely responses to customer queries. Ensuring this information is protected is essential for several reasons:

1. Maintaining customer privacy: Customers shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their data when shopping on your platform. However, the IAPP study found that 68% of shoppers are somewhat or very concerned about their online privacy.
2. Building consumer trust: Given that concerns about privacy are so widespread, you can build trust by showing customers their data is safe. In turn, they’ll be more likely to engage with your business, make repeat purchases, and recommend your platform to others.
3. Meeting regulatory requirements: E-commerce businesses are required to comply with data protection regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the USA. These directives detail strict guidelines for handling, storing, and securing data.
4. Reducing operational risks: As noted in the introduction, data breaches can be extremely costly. Remediation and reputational damage can add up quickly.
5. Ensuring data integrity: AI systems rely on high-quality data to function effectively. Compromised or poor quality data can result in inaccurate decisions and predictions, negatively impacting the customer experience.

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10 questions to ask AI vendors about data security

Given the stakes, it’s imperative that you work with an AI vendor that takes steps to protect your data. Thoroughly vetting prospective AI partners can help you avoid the security pitfalls and financial ramifications detailed above.

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As a merchant, here are some key questions you should ask:

1. Have you ever had a data breach? Understanding a vendor’s history with data breaches is crucial. Although data breaches are common — the University of North Georgia estimates that 64% of companies have experienced web-based attacks — Yuma AI for example has robust procedures in place to prevent its occurrence. We continuously monitor our networks, run annual penetration tests, and maintain server logs for up to a year to determine if any customer accounts were accessed without authorization.
2. How often do you review security bulletins and act upon them? Regularly reviewing security bulletins and implementing updates is crucial for staying ahead of emerging threats. You’ll want to do business with an AI partner that’s proactive in keeping their systems up-to-date with the latest patches and updates. Yuma AI reviews all security bulletins for open-source software it employs and patches within a specified timeline, depending on the severity.
3. Do you encrypt data at all times? Encryption is a fundamental security measure that safeguards data from unauthorized access. Yuma AI encrypts data both in-transit (e.g., while moving it across a network) and at rest (e.g., while stored in the cloud), including internally on our own private network.
4. Do you train your AI model on customer data? Some vendors use customer data (such as FAQ interactions and purchase history) to train their AI. Yuma AI, however, does not.
5. What is your data retention policy? Knowing how long a vendor retains data and what the process is for erasing it helps ensure customer information isn’t kept longer than necessary. This, in turn, reduces the risk of unnecessary exposure. Yuma AI deletes message data by default after 13 weeks.
6. Is your business GDPR and CCPA compliant? Compliance with regulations such as GDPR and CCPA demonstrates a commitment to handling, storing, and keeping data safe.
7. How can I request to delete data under GDPR and CCPA? Data protection regulations often include the right to data deletion, so ensure your vendor has a process for handling these requests that’s in accordance with applicable laws.
8. How do you verify customers before divulging personal information? Proper customer verification is essential for preventing unauthorized access. For example, when someone reaches out about an order, does the vendor ensure they’re talking to the right person by confirming their order number or email? Do they check that the customer is logged in? Ask for specifics about their customer verification process.
9. How do you manage access controls and authentication? Ask about the vendor’s policies for managing user access and ensuring that only authorized personnel are allowed in the system. Yuma AI uses role-based access and multi-factor authentication (MFA) to ensure only authorized employees access customer data — and that access is logged internally.
10. How do you handle third-party integrations? AI systems may integrate with other platforms and services, so it’s essential to understand how vendors ensure a secure integration process and manage vulnerabilities. Yuma AI reviews all vendors that process data to ensure they handle it appropriately.

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At Yuma AI, we prioritize robust encryption methods, frequent security updates, and access control measures. Our secure third-party integrations and data retention policy reinforce our commitment to the highest standards of data safety.

Another consideration: SOC certification

In addition to inquiring about the topics listed above, you might consider whether a prospective AI vendor is Service Organization Control (SOC) certified. Developed by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), SOC is a cybersecurity compliance framework for ensuring third-party service providers store and process client data properly.

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Although SOC certification is not mandatory, Yuma AI is SOC compliant nonetheless, further underscoring our dedication to putting the right security measures in place. 

Try Yuma AI free

In an era where data breaches are increasingly common and costly, partnering with a security-focused AI vendor is imperative. With Yuma AI, you can trust that your CX platform is safeguarded by robust security protocols.

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Contact us today to start your free trial and learn more about our data security practices and AI-powered solutions. 

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