An AI agent reads every file in the folder you give it. Give it a folder of safe copies: Markdown files in which names, addresses and ID numbers are replaced with placeholders such as Person_1. Keep the originals somewhere else, and put the real names back only in the agent's answer.
Why an agent needs more care than a chat
In a chat, you see every line you paste. An agent opens files on its own: it searches the folder, reads what looks relevant and quotes from it. You don't choose which passages it reads.
If the agent runs on a cloud model, the text it reads goes to that model's provider, under that provider's terms. So the folder should hold nothing you would not paste into a chat yourself. Our guide to AI data settings covers what the main services keep.
Save safe copies of the client's documents
- Create a case for the client and add their documents. ClientSafe reads PDFs, including scans, Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, emails and more.
- Review what it found: names, companies, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, account and ID numbers, dates of birth. Untick matches that are not personal data and mark anything it missed.
- Save each safe copy as a Markdown file. Agents read Markdown as plain text, with headings and tables intact.
Within one case, the same name gets the same placeholder in every document. The agent can follow Person_1 from the contract to the letters without knowing who that is. See working with a whole case.
A placeholder replaces the name, but the rest of the text can still identify a person: a rare job title, a small town or a well-known event. Check the safe copies against our list of what to remove before a document goes to AI.
Images inside the documents are left out of the safe copy. If the agent needs a chart or a photo, describe it in your own words.
Set up the agent's folder
Make a new folder for the agent and copy into it only the safe copies. Documents without client data, such as templates, manuals or public rules, can go there too.
The originals stay outside that folder and outside its subfolders. So does any other copy of a client document that still has the real names in it.
If the folder syncs to a cloud service, the safe copies go there too. That is usually fine for a safe copy, but decide it on purpose.
Tell the agent about the placeholders
Add a short note to the agent's instructions file, for example:
Names like Person_1 and Company_1 are placeholders.
Use them exactly as written. Do not guess the real names.Without this note, an agent may "fix" a placeholder into a made-up name, and that name will not restore.
Get the real names back in the answer
The agent's answer uses the placeholders. Paste it into ClientSafe in the same case, and the real names come back. The restored text is a client document again: keep it with the client's files, not in the agent's folder. Our guide to restoring real names covers the details.
What to check before the agent starts
- Search the agent's folder for the client's surname, email domain or account number. Nothing should be found.
- Check that no original PDF, Word or Excel file is in the folder or its subfolders.
- Open one safe copy and read the first page as a stranger would.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the same safe copies with several agents?
Yes. A safe copy is an ordinary Markdown file. Any agent or local model that reads text files can use it.
What if I add documents to the case later?
People already in the case keep their placeholders, and new people get the next free number. Save safe copies of the new documents and add them to the agent's folder.
Is a local model safe enough without a safe copy?
A model that runs on your PC keeps the text on your PC. A safe copy still helps if the folder syncs to the cloud, if the agent can search the web, or if you later switch to a cloud model.
ClientSafe replaces personal data in client documents with placeholders on your PC and saves the safe copy as Markdown for your AI agent. When the answer comes back, it puts the real names in. Detection is not perfect, so review the list before you save.