Your company might be secretly recording your ChatGPT conversations -- here's why

A new compliance report shows a sharp rise in financial institutions capturing ChatGPT communications. Global Relay’s Communication Capture Trends Report 2025 found a 3,000 percent increase in the number of firms recording ChatGPT data compared with a year ago.

The report analyzed data from more than 12,000 financial institutions and over 200 communication channels to see how firms are adapting to changing workforces and the introduction of new communication tools.

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The research revealed a growing need for regulated industries to capture data from new platforms that employees might turn to for business communication.

ChatGPT recording

According to the findings, 100 percent of the firms capturing ChatGPT communications were based in North America. Global Relay links this trend to expanded guidance from the Department of Justice that firms must preserve all relevant business communications, including those generated through AI chatbots.

The report also noted a 2,000 percent year-on-year increase in firms capturing TikTok data and a 114 percent rise in those recording Apple Messages.

Traditional channels still dominate overall compliance capture. Email remains the most recorded, covering 89 percent of Global Relay’s sample accounts. LinkedIn personal accounts and Microsoft Teams each account for 23 percent.

The biggest year-on-year increases come from newer or unconventional platforms, which the report says may indicate that firms are prioritizing areas where regulators have focused recent enforcement.

Firms appear to be reacting to several regulatory pressures. There was a 33 percent increase in firms capturing social media channels following fines under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Marketing Rule. WhatsApp capture grew 36 percent year-on-year, with 89 percent of those firms located in North America. That trend follows years of regulatory penalties for recordkeeping failures related to off-channel communications.

“Compliance teams, and the firms they’re a part of, increasingly find themselves between the ‘rock’ of regulatory expectations and the ‘hard place’ of rapidly evolving technologies," Ryan Sheridan, Global Relay’s Senior Manager for Regulatory Intelligence, said. "The last few years of regulatory enforcement have sunk in, and firms are clearly investing in compliance solutions in-line with regulatory focuses like off-channel communications and the SEC’s Marketing Rule.”

American regulators have driven most of the recent enforcement activity. Sheridan explained, “Given that it was U.S. regulators setting the pace of these enforcements, it’s unsurprising to see North American firms are working to stay ahead of emerging channels like ChatGPT and TikTok and the risks they might present. While ‘traditional’ business-as-usual channels like email remain firmly in the mix, the data shows just how quickly compliance priorities can shift -- and it will be very interesting to see how these results stack up compared to 2026’s.”

The Communication Capture Trends Report series provides an annual look at how firms adjust to regulatory developments and technology shifts across global financial sectors.

What do you think about firms starting to capture ChatGPT communications? Let us know in the comments.

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