01You stay responsible, even when the vendor runs the bot
Under the GDPR, a chat with a customer is personal data the moment it contains a name, a phone number, an email address or anything else that points to a person (Article 4(1)). Your business decides why and how that data is used, which makes you the controller. The chatbot vendor, working on your behalf, is the processor. Article 28(1) says a controller should use only processors that provide sufficient guarantees, and Article 5(2) says you must be able to demonstrate that you comply. So 'the vendor says it is secure' is not a defence you can hand to a regulator. The guarantees have to be on paper.
- A customer message with a name, phone number or email is personal data (Article 4(1))
- Your business is the controller, the chatbot vendor is the processor (Article 4(7) and 4(8))
- Use only processors that give sufficient guarantees (Article 28(1))
- You must be able to show that you complied (Article 5(2))
02Four questions to put to any chatbot vendor
Ask where the data is stored and whether it leaves the EU. Article 44 allows personal data to go to a country outside the EU only if the conditions of the GDPR's transfer chapter are met, and Article 13(1)(f) means you may have to tell your customers about such a transfer. Ask how long conversations are kept: data should be kept no longer than necessary (Article 5(1)(e)), and your privacy notice must state the period or the criteria used to set it (Article 13(2)(a)). Ask whether the vendor trains its models on your conversations, and get the answer as a written clause, not a sales line. Training is a separate use of the data, and Article 5(1)(b) limits further use to purposes compatible with the original one. Finally, ask for the data processing agreement and the list of sub-processors.
- Where is the data stored, and does it leave the EU?
- How long is it kept, and is it deleted or returned when you leave (Article 28(3)(g))?
- Does the vendor train its models on your conversations? Get it as a written clause
- Is there a signed data processing agreement and a list of sub-processors?
03What the contract has to cover, and the 72-hour clock
Article 28(3) says processing by a processor must be governed by a contract. That contract has to bind the processor to act only on your documented instructions (point a), to apply the security measures required by Article 32 (point c) and, at your choice, to delete or return all personal data when the service ends (point g). Under Article 28(2) the processor may not bring in another processor without your prior specific or general written authorisation (if it is general, the processor must tell you of any changes), which matters because a chatbot is often built on a third party's AI model. Breaches run on a clock. The processor must tell you without undue delay (Article 33(2)), and you must notify the supervisory authority within 72 hours where feasible, unless the breach is unlikely to result in a risk to people (Article 33(1)). In Romania that authority is ANSPDCP.
- The contract binds the vendor to your documented instructions
- Delete or return all data when the service ends, at your choice
- No new sub-processor without your prior specific or general written authorisation
- Breach: the vendor tells you without undue delay, you tell ANSPDCP within 72 hours where feasible, unless the breach is unlikely to result in a risk to people
04Collect less: what a chatbot should never ask for
The safest data is the data you never collect. Article 5(1)(c) asks for data that is adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary. For a booking or price chatbot that means a name, a contact detail and a date, not an ID number, a card number or a medical history. Health data sits in a special category that Article 9(1) prohibits processing unless an exception applies, such as explicit consent for specified purposes (Article 9(2)(a)). If your business gets near that kind of detail, build the chat so it tells the person to call or write to you instead of typing it in. Payments belong on a payment page, never in the conversation.
- Ask for a name, a contact detail and a date, nothing more (Article 5(1)(c))
- No ID numbers, card numbers or medical details in the chat
- Health data is a special category (Article 9(1))
- Payments belong on a payment page, not in a conversation
05Tell people it is a bot, and what happens to the chat
Article 50(1) of the EU AI Act says providers must design AI systems that interact directly with people so that those people are informed they are dealing with an AI, unless that is obvious to a reasonably well-informed person. Article 50 has applied since 2 August 2026. Separately, GDPR Article 13 means the person should learn who is collecting the data, why, who receives it and how long it is kept. In a chat window that is one short line above the conversation and a link to your privacy page. Article 50(1) is addressed to the provider of the system. Whether duties also fall on you, as the business using it, is a question for a legal adviser.
- Say at the start of the chat that it is an AI (Article 50(1) of the AI Act)
- Link to a privacy page that says who you are, why, who receives the data and for how long
- Ask your vendor which duties sit with them and which with you
06Where PROOF48 fits, and where it is the wrong choice
PROOF48's AUTOMATE plan costs 2,997 EUR a month and includes an AI website chatbot that qualifies leads and books, AI auto-responders for DMs and email, booking automation and a CRM. It does not cover WhatsApp or phone calls. Our privacy page describes what proof48.com collects from its own visitors and project forms, not how a client's chatbot data is handled, and this site publishes no data processing agreement template, sub-processor list or security certification. Our AI assistant page describes one Claude session per client channel, which means conversation text goes to an AI model provider. If your procurement needs a certified vendor or a published sub-processor list today, or the chat would give medical, legal or financial advice, PROOF48 is the wrong choice.
- AUTOMATE, 2,997 EUR a month: website chatbot, DM and email auto-responders, booking automation, CRM
- WhatsApp and phone calls are not covered by AUTOMATE
- No DPA template, sub-processor list or security certification is published on this site
- Wrong choice if you need a certified vendor now, or advice-giving in medicine, law or finance
Not a chatbot: how a membership platform handled member data
None of our eight written-up builds is an AI chatbot, so we have no chatbot case to quote. The nearest is SunVolt Club, a membership platform for SunVolt Energy UAB with member logins and energy reports uploaded by an administrator. It shipped report uploads checked by file type, size and magic bytes, rate limiting on login, password reset, leads and checkout, signature-verified Stripe webhooks, and cookie consent wired into analytics before any tag fires. That is ordinary web hygiene, not a chatbot audit. We do not publish SunVolt's member numbers.
See the build: SunVolt ClubQuestions, answered
Is an AI chatbot GDPR compliant out of the box?
No product is compliant by itself. The GDPR applies to how you use it: what you collect, why, for how long and under which contract. A vendor can give guarantees, but Article 5(2) leaves the duty to demonstrate compliance with you.
Do I need a data processing agreement with the chatbot vendor?
If the vendor processes personal data on your behalf, Article 28(3) says the processing must be governed by a contract with a set content. Most vendors call it a data processing agreement. Ask for it before you sign.
Does PROOF48 publish a data processing agreement or a sub-processor list?
Not on this site today. Our privacy page covers proof48.com, not client chatbots. If you need either document, ask for it in writing before you buy and treat a refusal as your answer.
Can a chatbot take card details or health information?
It should not. Take payment on a payment page and send medical or legal details to a person. Health data is a special category under Article 9(1).
Where PROOF48 fits
A chatbot is as safe as the contract and setup around it. Get written answers on where data is stored, how long it is kept, whether the vendor trains on it and whether a data processing agreement is signed, collect as little as possible, and tell people they are talking to a bot. PROOF48's AUTOMATE chatbot costs 2,997 EUR a month, and we publish no DPA template, sub-processor list or certification, so put the same questions to us.
Cosmin Tiu · Founder, PROOF48
Cosmin has worked in online marketing and software development since 2018, and has built with AI every day since January 2023. He still writes code from scratch daily, in Python, React, Rust and C#. PROOF48 ships business websites in 48 hours and invoices afterwards, so every opinion on this blog was paid for in real builds, not in theory.