Google Gmail Using AI Conflicts with FTC Safeguards Rule

With gmail making their AI tool available to everyone it creates a REAL problem for accountants and tax pros. In essence, use of the gmail AI “Gemini” tool as a tax accountant is in direct violation of Circ 230 as it provides access to correspondence and email lists of clients. As an accountant and or tax professional you MUST READ the fine print. If you are sharing anything with the tool it could lead to conflicts with the FTC Safeguards Rules. To be safe, if you are a tax professional, you cannot have this tool turned on. But you may be wondering are there other ways a Tax Accountant can use AI safely?

What does Circular 230 say about tax pros using AI

According to Circ 230, tax pros can leverage certain AI tools for planning or risk assessment but you must keep it on the up and up by:

• Being transparent by sharing with your clients if you use AI tools and how you are verifying that the tools used will still protect their privacy.  And to be clear, it is your responsibility to ensure client privacy.
• Protect client data and avoid public AI.  This means absolutely no use of AI in your gmail account.  It is too easy for the AI tool to identify who you are corresponding with AND what you are sharing with them.  
• Maintaining your integrity by using your own professional judgment and due diligence to ensure that everything you share is accurate.  Don’t blindly trust that AI is always correct, you are the professional and your clients hire you – not AI – for your tax knowledge.

Ultimately, when using any AI tools practice extra precautions to avoid misleading clients or giving written advice that violates the Circ 230 standards.

What about using Gemini, Gmail’s AI feature?

You cannot share client communication including emails that you write to a client or emails they write back to you with AI. Client emails are considered PII. If you have gmail’s AI on, by its nature you are sharing your client’s PII with google and relating it back to your source. This is a big no no.

You can opt out of gmail’s AI in the settings of your google account.

What does Circ 230 say about creating educational content for clients

Anytime you give your clients written advice you have an ethical obligation to verify that the advice is accurate, according to Sec. 10.33 of Circ 230. We know that in your client relationships, AI cannot replace your years of experience and specific knowledge of your client’s situation. And legally, if you use AI to draft your written content you are still required to use your professional knowledge to review, edit, and consider how the advice pertains to each of your client’s particular situation.

This is why we do not use AI to write your content at Practice Panda. Every piece of content is created by experienced professionals who study the current tax laws and verify your content is up to date and accurate.

Using AI for research

On the other hand, there are a number of closed AI solutions that are being used to research tax law. These handy tools get you to answers faster and the source of the information is typically a closed data system of the tax code and tax cases. This is an excellent use of AI as it is saving time, but ultimately you are making the decision for your client. The AI tool is just getting you to the relevant material more quickly. But even here, it is good practice to read the fine print to know how your use of the tool is being shared and if you access the tool while working on someone’s return, you need to ensure that nothing from that return can remotely be shared back within the AI tool.

The great thing about Practice Panda’s approach is when using our expertly written content it ensures that you are speaking to your clients in real-human terms that helps build trust and delivers your clients back to you as the expert every time.