Artificial Intelligence (AI) Data Security and Data Privacy

Many of our customers need to understand more about how we handle their data sent to Encodian connectors for processing. A high-level synopsis of the typical data security and data privacy questions posed to our operational teams on a daily basis can be found in the Data Security and Data Privacy article. 

This article is focussed specifically on the data security and data privacy questions which are commonly posed to Encodian regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in our technology products. 

If you require additional clarification or information, we encourage you to raise a detailed query with our operational support team by raising a request.

Which Encodian actions use AI technology?

Encodian offers two broad categories of model-driven capability:

1. Cloud AI actions: which are identified with "(AI)" in the action name and use Microsoft Azure AI services, a complete list of these actions is located: AI Actions
2. Embedded model-based processing, which may be used within certain actions for narrowly scoped tasks such as page orientation or preprocessing. These embedded models are fixed within the product, are not prompt-based or generative, and are not trained, fine-tuned, or updated using customer data.

Have Encodian created the AI technology and models and if so, how is data processed? 

Encodian’s model-driven capabilities are delivered in two ways:

• Microsoft Azure AI services: We are a Microsoft partner and deliver many of our AI-related capabilities atop Microsoft Azure Services. Post processing by Microsoft services, Encodian may further modify / optimise the output data returned to simplify working with the output data within Microsoft Power Automate.
• Embedded fixed models: for certain limited functions performed within the product, such as document/page orientation. These embedded models run as packaged components within Encodian’s solution and are not trained or updated from customer data.

Where will my data be processed? 

Please check the documentation for each AI action to verify the data processing location. Unless specified otherwise, input data will be processed in the selected (or nearest) Azure region in which Encodian maintain a presence (Australia, Canada, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States of America).

How is my data secured and protected? 

Microsoft standard data privacy and security principles for the relevant AI service apply:

• Azure Document Intelligence - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/responsible-ai/document-intelligence/data-privacy-security
• Azure Open AI - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/responsible-ai/openai/data-privacy
• Azure Speech - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/responsible-ai/speech-service/speech-to-text/data-privacy-security
• Azure Translator - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/responsible-ai/translator/data-privacy-security
• Azure Vision - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/ai-foundry/responsible-ai/computer-vision/image-analysis-data-privacy-security 

Which Microsoft AI Services are used by Encodian Actions?

The following Azure AI services are used by the following Azure AI actions:

• Azure Document Intelligence
  • AI - Process Bank Check (US)
  • AI - Process Bank Statement (US)
  • AI - Process Contract
  • AI - Process Credit Card
  • AI - Process Health Insurance Card (US)
  • AI - Process ID Document
  • AI - Process Invoice
  • AI - Process Marriage Certificate (US)
  • AI - Process Mortgage Document (US)
  • AI - Process Pay Stub (US)
  • AI - Process Receipt
  • AI - Process Tax Document (US)
  • Barcode – Read (AI)
  • PDF - Apply OCR (AI)
• Azure Open AI
  • AI - Run Prompt (Text)
• Azure Speech
  • AI - Speech to Text
• Azure Translator
  • AI - Translate File
  • AI - Translate Text (Multiple)
  • AI - Translate Text (Single)
• Azure Vision
  • Image - Extract Text (AI OCR)

Key principles which apply to the configuration of the Azure AI Services:

• Neither Encodian or Microsoft use your data to train AI technology / ML / models
• No input data or output data is retained or logged
• Data, prompts and completions are not visible to Microsoft or Encodian staff
• Data is encrypted in transit and at rest
• Data is processed in-memory and discarded after the response is returned

Key principles which apply to embedded fixed models:

• the model(s) packaged within the product are static
• customer data is processed only to perform the requested function
• customer data is not used to train, retrain, validate, or improve the embedded model
• the use of customer personal data remains governed by the DPA and processor terms

Are the Azure AI Services shared, and if so can I have a dedicated AI service? 

By default, the Azure AI services are shared, however, if you have an 'Enterprise' or a custom subscription which exceeds the 'Enterprise' subscription level, a dedicated AI service can be provisioned upon request via raising a request with Encodian support.