Google recently announced the full-scale launch of Bard Extensions, integrating the conversational generative AI (GenAI) tool into their other services. Bard can now leverage users’ personal data to perform myriad tasks – organize emails, book flights, plan trips, craft message responses, and far more.

With Google’s services already deeply intertwined in our each day lives, this integration marks a real step forward for practical each day applications of GenAI, creating more efficient and productive ways of handling personal tasks and workflows. Consequently, as Google releases more convenient AI tools, other web-based AI features are sprouting up to fulfill the demand of users now searching for browser-based productivity extensions.

Users, nevertheless, must even be cautious and responsible. As useful and productive as Bard Extensions and similar tools will be, they open recent doors to potential security flaws that may compromise users’ personal data, amongst other yet undiscovered risks. Users keen on leveraging Bard or other GenAI productivity tools would do well to learn best practices and seek comprehensive security solutions before blindly handing over their sensitive information.

Reviewing Personal Data

Google explicitly states that its company staff may review users’ conversations with Bard – which can contain private information, from invoices to bank details to like notes. Users are warned accordingly to not enter confidential information or any data that they wouldn’t want Google employees to see or use to tell products, services, and machine-learning technologies.

Google and other GenAI tool providers are also more likely to use users’ personal data to re-train their machine learning models – a crucial aspect of GenAI improvements. The ability of AI lies in its ability to show itself and learn from recent information, but when that recent information is coming from the users who’ve trusted a GenAI extension with their personal data, it runs the danger of integrating information similar to passwords, bank information or contact details into Bard’s publicly available services.

Undetermined Security Concerns

As Bard becomes a more widely integrated tool inside Google, experts and users alike are still working to know the extent of its functionality. But like every cutting-edge player within the AI field, Google continues to release products without knowing exactly how they may utilize users’ information and data. For example, it was recently revealed that when you share a Bard conversation with a friend via the Share button, your complete conversation may show up in standard Google search results for anyone to see.

Albeit an attractive solution for improving workflows and efficiency, giving Bard or some other AI-powered extension permission to perform useful on a regular basis tasks in your behalf can result in undesired consequences in the shape of AI hallucinations – false or inaccurate outputs that GenAI is thought to sometimes create.

For Google users, this might mean booking an incorrect flight, inaccurately paying an invoice, or sharing documents with the incorrect person. Exposing personal data to the incorrect party or a malicious actor or sending the incorrect data to the best person can result in unwanted consequences – from identity theft and lack of digital privacy to potential financial loss or exposure of embarrassing correspondence.

Extending Security

For the typical AI user, the very best practice is just to not share any personal information from still-unpredictable AI assistants. But that alone doesn’t guarantee full security.

The shift to SaaS and web-based applications has already made the browser a major goal for attackers. And as people begin to adopt more web-based AI tools, the window of opportunity to steal sensitive data opens a bit wider. As more browser extensions attempt to piggyback off the success of GenAI – enticing users to put in them with recent and efficient features – people must be wary of the undeniable fact that lots of these extensions will find yourself stealing information or the user’s OpenAI API keys, within the case of ChatGPT-related tools.

Fortunately, browser extension security solutions exist already to stop data theft. By implementing a browser extension with DLP controls, users can mitigate the danger of inviting other browser extensions, AI-based or otherwise, to misuse or share personal data. These security extensions can inspect browser activity and implement security policies, stopping the danger of web-based apps from grabbing sensitive information.

Guard the Bard

While Bard and other similar extensions promise improved productivity and convenience, they carry substantial cybersecurity risks. Every time personal data is involved, there are at all times underlying security concerns that users must concentrate on – much more so in the brand new yet-uncharted waters of Generative AI.

As users allow Bard and other AI and web-based tools to act independently with sensitive personal data, more severe repercussions are surely in store for unsuspecting users who leave themselves vulnerable without browser security extensions or DLP controls. Afterall, a lift in productivity will probably be far less productive if it increases the prospect of exposing information, and individuals have to put safeguards for AI in place before data is mishandled at their expense.