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Youth Legal

AI Use Policy

Youth Legal uses an AI assistant (the chatbot on this site) to help users explore questions about debt, money, housing, benefits, employment, and consumer rights in England and Wales. This policy explains how the chatbot works, what it cannot do, what we do with the information you share, and how to reach a human adviser.

What the chatbot is and isn’t

  • The chatbot is an automated tool powered by a large language model from OpenAI, drawing on Youth Legal’s own knowledge base for content.
  • It can explain legal and money concepts in plain English, point you to relevant guides on this site, and help you decide which Youth Legal team to contact.
  • It is not a qualified solicitor, debt adviser, or social worker. It does not provide individual legal advice and does not create a solicitor-client or adviser-client relationship between you and Youth Legal.

Limitations you should know about

  • AI responses can be incorrect, incomplete, or out of date. Always check the sources cited in a response, and confirm anything important with a human Youth Legal adviser before acting.
  • The chatbot’s knowledge is limited to England and Wales. It cannot help with Scottish, Northern Irish, or other international law.
  • It is not authorised to provide regulated debt advice, immigration advice, or financial services advice. For those matters it will direct you to a qualified human adviser.
  • If you are in danger or in crisis, do not rely on the chatbot — call 999 or the Samaritans on 116 123.

How your conversation is processed

  • When you send a message, your message and the recent context of the conversation are sent to OpenAI’s API for processing. OpenAI is contracted to process this data on Youth Legal’s behalf and is not permitted to use your conversations to train their general models.
  • The conversation is also stored on Youth Legal’s secure database (hosted on Supabase, in the European Union) so that you can return to your chat and so we can monitor the quality of responses.
  • The chatbot does not ask for personal information. Please do not share details that identify you (full name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number, bank details, etc.) in the chat unless you choose to do so when submitting an enquiry form.

How long we keep chat data

  • Chat sessions are stored for up to 90 days, after which they are automatically deleted unless they have been linked to an active casework matter.
  • If you create a Youth Legal account and sign in, your chat history is associated with your account and is deleted when you delete your account.

Your rights

You have the right to:

  • Ask us what data we hold about you
  • Ask us to delete your chat history
  • Ask us to correct any inaccurate information
  • Object to or restrict how we use your data
  • Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)

To exercise these rights, contact us at info@youthlegal.org.uk.

When to ask for a human

The chatbot is designed to help you understand your situation and find resources, but it should never be the only step you take if your situation is serious or time-sensitive. You should contact a Youth Legal adviser if:

  • You are facing eviction, homelessness, or court action
  • You have received a formal letter from a creditor, the council, a landlord, or a court
  • You feel unsafe or are experiencing domestic abuse, financial control, or coercion
  • The chatbot has given a response that doesn’t match your situation
  • You simply prefer to speak to a person — that is always OK

You can reach us by:

Changes to this policy

We will update this policy as our use of AI evolves or as the law changes. The version date below indicates when this policy was last updated. We encourage you to check back occasionally.

Contact us

If you have questions about this policy or how Youth Legal uses AI, contact us at info@youthlegal.org.uk.

Last updated: 8 April 2026.

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