GoRefer Trust Center
AI Security & Governance
Updated October 2026
GoRefer's AI assistant, Gio, operates under a strict data governance framework designed specifically for the tax industry. This page describes what data Gio can access, how it stays within your firm, and the controls meant to reduce the risk of data exposure.
We understand that using AI in a tax workflow requires a higher bar of trust. The details below are written for both technical reviewers and non-technical firm owners.
Our policy on model training
GoRefer does not use customer inputs to train or fine-tune models. Gio sends context to Microsoft AI services to generate responses; client names, narrative and document content may be processed there. Gio's voice assistant uses ElevenLabs for speech, and a conversation with it is processed there. The sub-processor register lists these providers, and you can request the provider terms that apply.
What Is Gio?
Updated October 2026
Gio is GoRefer's built-in AI assistant. It can draft communications, surface referral insights, summarize client activity, suggest commission structures, and help preparers manage their workload. Gio is deeply integrated with firm data — which is why its data access is tightly controlled.
What Gio Can Do
Draft client-facing emails and referral communications
Summarize referral pipeline and commission trends
Answer questions about firm data (scoped to your firm only)
Suggest workflow improvements based on aggregated activity
Assist with document drafting and compliance checklists
Review AI drafts before relying on them; whether an action can be undone depends on the action
What Gio Cannot Do
Guarantee detection of every identifier embedded in free-form input
Read data belonging to a different firm
Independently guarantee that prior conversation context has been deleted
Replace the preparer's review and professional judgment
Control how a firm shares or uses generated output
Initiate outbound communication on your behalf without explicit approval
What Data Is Sent to AI Infrastructure?
Updated October 2026
The table below documents each data category that Gio may encounter and the protection measures applied before any data leaves GoRefer's own infrastructure.
| Data Type | Sent to AI? | How It's Protected | Sensitivity |
|---|---|---|---|
Uploaded tax documents | Yes — document recognition | Our AI provider (Microsoft) reads document images to extract their text, over an encrypted connection. The image includes any numbers printed on it. The documents themselves are stored with the firm's records. A client who chooses to continue without AI in Smart Intake has their documents stored for their preparer and not sent to be read. | Critical |
Client SSN / ITIN / EIN / bank and routing numbers | Masked in text | Social Security numbers, ITINs, EINs and bank account and routing numbers are masked before text is sent to an AI model. Masking can miss a number written in an unusual way, so don't type identifiers into chat. Numbers printed on uploaded documents are still read, as described above. | Critical |
Client name | Yes — in case and client context | Case context can include the taxpayer’s name under the requesting firm’s access controls. It is not anonymized; treat that name as visible to the AI provider. | Controlled |
Voice assistant conversations | Yes — when a firm administrator uses it | Gio's voice assistant uses ElevenLabs for speech. What the administrator says, and what the assistant says back, is processed by ElevenLabs, including the client names and case details the assistant looks up to answer. Identifiers are masked in what the assistant reads out, it is not given a client's full address or date of birth, and a client who chose to continue without AI is left out of what it looks up. What an administrator says aloud is not masked: the voice reaches ElevenLabs as spoken. Gio asks ElevenLabs not to record the voice and to keep each conversation for the shortest time its plan allows, and deletes each conversation when the call ends. | Controlled |
Referral workflow data | Yes — in structured context | Built only from the requesting firm's records that the user is authorized to see. Public features and GoRefer's operator tools have their own context and permissions. | Standard |
Commission calculations | Yes — workflow context | Firm and preparer context can include names and related records. Do not assume all financial context is anonymous. | Standard |
Analytics & usage patterns | Yes — workflow-dependent | Some requests use firm-wide totals; some client, preparer and case features can include details about individuals. | Low |
AI Security Controls
Updated October 2026
Every AI interaction on the GoRefer platform is governed by the following technical and policy controls. The status column shows whether each one is a working control, a policy commitment or still open; open items are listed rather than left off the page.
| Control | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
Firm isolation | Firm AI features only query that firm's data and check the user's authorization. Public features and GoRefer's operator tools have separate context and permissions. | Enforced |
No model training on customer data | GoRefer policy prohibits using customer inputs to train or fine-tune models. How the provider handles data is governed by the applicable Microsoft service terms and our configuration. | Policy |
Identifier masking before AI models | Social Security numbers, ITINs, EINs and bank account and routing numbers are masked before text is sent to an AI model. Masking can miss a number written in an unusual way, so don't type identifiers into chat. This does not apply to the document images our AI provider reads. Client names may remain. | Enforced |
AI response audit log | Gio stores conversation content and workflow records, as well as audit metadata. Gio cases, case documents and their files are kept for the life of the firm's account and deleted with the workspace after cancellation. Only Gio's finished background-job logs expire, after 90 days. | Enforced |
AI disclosure on preparer-facing outputs | Every Gio surface a preparer reads — chat, case chat, tax research, 1040 return review, IRS notice analysis and drafted responses, memos, review queues, due-diligence output and content drafts — carries a standing, non-dismissible notice that the output is AI-assisted and must be reviewed and verified before it is relied on. | Enforced |
AI disclosure on client-facing AI | Smart Intake shows the client a short notice before AI reads their documents or chats with them. They can agree, or continue without AI: their documents are then stored for their preparer, nothing automatic reads them, and the preparer sees that they chose to review by hand. The embeddable Gio chat widget on firm websites does not yet carry a client-worded notice, so this control is only partly in place. | Partial |
Professional review before reliance | AI outputs are presented as drafts. Conversation messages and generated work can be saved as part of the workflow. Preparers remain responsible for reviewing AI output before using it in client work. | User responsibility |
AI providers | Gio's AI runs on Microsoft. How long Microsoft keeps data depends on the applicable service terms and our configuration. Gio's voice assistant uses ElevenLabs for speech. Gio asks ElevenLabs not to record the voice and to keep each conversation for the shortest time its plan allows, and deletes each conversation when the call ends. Both are in the sub-processor register. | In place |
Conversations kept with our AI provider | Gio may keep a chat's history with our AI provider while the chat is open. When a chat is deleted, we ask the provider to delete its copy too, and if the provider can't be reached we try again each night until it confirms. Deleting a case, erasing a person or closing a firm deletes those copies as well. Requests that need only one answer, such as a call summary or a message draft, are deleted from the provider once the answer comes back. | In place |
Safeguards against AI manipulation | We use safeguards against attempts to manipulate the AI. No safeguard is perfect, so review AI output. | In place |
AI Credit System as a Governance Mechanism
Updated October 2026
GoRefer's AI credit system is not just a billing mechanism — it serves as a natural rate-limiting and auditability layer. Metered Gio operations record credit usage. A billing record is not a complete audit of every data access or AI interaction.
Rate Limiting
Metered operations check available credits alongside their access controls
Administrators can review credit usage for unexpected activity
Admins can set per-user AI credit limits
Usage records
Metered operations record usage details for the applicable action
Credit history supports usage review; it is not a tamper-proof event archive
Credit history is recorded separately from case-content retention
Access Control
Credit allocations are scoped per user role
Authorized administrators can manage supported user access and limits
AI features follow the same RBAC as the rest of the platform
AI Infrastructure Isolation
Updated October 2026
How long providers keep data depends on the service
How Microsoft and ElevenLabs process, store and keep data depends on the service, our configuration and the applicable terms. GoRefer also stores conversation and case records with the firm's account.
Request Lifecycle
Context is put together on GoRefer's own systems
Social Security numbers, ITINs, EINs and bank account and routing numbers are masked before text is sent to an AI model. Masking can miss a number written in an unusual way, so don't type identifiers into chat. Uploaded document images are read separately by our AI provider, and names and case details can remain.
Requests and conversations
Gio may keep a chat's history with our AI provider while the chat is open. When a chat is deleted, we ask the provider to delete its copy too, and try again each night if it can't be reached.
Response handling
Each feature handles structured answers and AI refusals in its own way; professional review is still required
No cross-firm context
The context sent with each request comes only from the requesting firm
Failure & Fallback Handling
When a provider fails
Gio shows an unavailable or error message. Conversation and case records already stored follow their own retention schedule
Incident logging
Failure logging varies by feature; details of logging and data filtering are available on request
Prompt Injection Protection
Updated October 2026
Prompt injection is text that tries to override the AI's instructions or pull data out of it. We use safeguards against attempts to manipulate the AI. No safeguard is perfect, so review AI output.
Input Defense
Text from clients is kept separate from Gio's own instructions
Request-size limits depend on the feature
Output Defense
Features that need structured answers validate them
There is no universal filter that blocks personal data in AI responses
AI output is shown as a draft for a person to review