Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

The AI Team ("we", "us", "our") is an AI implementation consultancy based in South Africa, operating at theaiteam.co.za. We build AI receptionists, automation systems, and operational tooling for South African small businesses.

For any privacy-related question, email us at hello@theaiteam.co.za, use our contact page, or WhatsApp +27 63 218 2763.

2. What information we collect

From prospects (you, before you sign): name, business name, contact details (phone, email), what you tell us about your business in a discovery call or form.

From clients (you, after you sign): everything above, plus signed agreements, banking details for invoicing, business systems credentials we need to integrate, training data and FAQs you give us, and operational data we process on your behalf.

From your end-customers (when we run AI on your behalf): conversation transcripts, contact details they provide, booking information. This data is processed under your authority — see Section 6.

From website visitors: IP address, browser type, pages visited, basic analytics. No third-party advertising trackers.

3. Why we collect it

• To respond to enquiries and run discovery calls.
• To deliver the services you've signed for.
• To invoice you and meet our SARS obligations.
• To improve our service (in aggregate, never identifying you).
• To send you operational messages (status updates, billing, support).

4. Who we share it with

Only parties that need it to deliver the service:

• AI infrastructure providers (e.g. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) — for running the AI models. We sign data processing agreements requiring POPIA-equivalent protection.
• Business systems we integrate with on your behalf (CRMs, calendars, WhatsApp Business API providers).
• Cloud hosting and infrastructure — reputable providers with industry-standard security.
• SARS — where required by tax law.

We do not sell your information. Ever.

5. How we keep it safe

Encrypted connections (HTTPS), access on a need-to-know basis, reputable cloud providers, secrets management for any credentials you share with us, and no storage of customer data on developer machines. Where you give us credentials to integrate systems, we strongly recommend service-account credentials rather than personal logins.

6. Your end-customers' data

When we run AI on your behalf (e.g. an AI receptionist answering your customer WhatsApps, built under The Pilot, Programme, or A-Team), we are the Operator under POPIA — you are the Responsible Party for that customer data. Our Master Services Agreement contains a Data Processing Addendum that covers the relationship.

In short: we process your end-customers' data only on your instructions, only to deliver the service you signed for, and we don't use it to train models or for any other purpose.

7. How long we keep it

For active clients: as long as you're a client, plus five years thereafter to meet SA tax record-keeping obligations. After that, we delete or anonymise.

For prospects who don't convert: 18 months from last contact, then deleted.

8. Your rights under POPIA

You have the right to:

• Ask what personal information we hold about you.
• Ask us to correct or delete it.
• Object to processing for direct marketing.
• Withdraw consent (where consent is the basis for processing).
• Lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (SA) — inforegulator.org.za.

To exercise any right, contact us — we respond within 30 days.

9. Cookies

Our website uses minimal cookies — only what's needed for the site to work and basic visitor numbers. No third-party advertising cookies.

10. Changes

We may update this policy. The "last updated" date reflects the most recent change. Material changes are communicated to active clients by email.

11. Contact

📧 Email: hello@theaiteam.co.za
💬 Via our contact page
📱 WhatsApp: +27 63 218 2763
📍 South Africa