AI Vendor Risk Assessment: What Miami Businesses Need to Evaluate Before Deploying AI Tools

Miami businesses are adopting AI tools at record speed — AI chatbots, document analyzers, scheduling tools, and customer service bots. But many are deploying these tools without understanding what data is being shared, stored, or used to train vendor models.

What to Evaluate Before Deploying an AI Tool

• Data residency: Where is your data stored? Is it in the US or overseas?
• Training data opt-out: Does your data train the vendor's models? Can you opt out?
• Data retention: How long does the vendor retain your inputs and outputs?
• Subprocessors: What third parties does the vendor share data with?
• Security certifications: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001, or equivalent
• Breach notification: What is their SLA for notifying you of a breach?

Compliance Considerations by Industry

• Healthcare: Any AI tool handling patient data requires a BAA and HIPAA compliance documentation
• Legal: Attorney-client privilege may be compromised if case data enters AI vendor systems
• Financial services: FINRA and SEC have guidance on AI use in client-facing applications
• All industries: Florida's Digital Bill of Rights applies to consumer data used in AI systems

Building an AI Acceptable Use Policy

• Maintain an approved AI tools list — require IT approval before adopting new tools
• Define what data categories may and may not be entered into AI tools
• Establish review processes for AI-generated content before external use
• Train employees on AI data hygiene — no PII, PHI, or confidential data in public AI tools