Last updated: August 2026
Next review: August 2027 / as emerging governance dictates
At Ayoa, we want you to feel confident about how our AI works and how your data is protected. We use AI to enhance creativity and productivity, never to replace your judgment or control. Below you’ll find answers to the most common questions about our AI features, data handling, and security.
What is AI and how does it work?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is technology that can recognise patterns in data and provide suggestions, insights, or automated support.
Think of it like a knowledgeable assistant that can:
- Understand what you’re working on
- Suggest relevant ideas and content
- Help organise your thoughts
- And save time on repetitive or complex tasks
Our Responsible AI Principles
We embrace new technology but always consider safety, responsible and ethical use of this as paramount. We deploy AI in line with these principles and as defined in the ISO 42001:2023 standard:
- Fairness
- Transparency
- Safety
- Security
- Privacy
- Data Quality
- Human Oversight and Control
- Accountability
How does AI help with decision-making in Ayoa?
Ayoa’s AI doesn’t make decisions for you, it supports you by:
- Spotting connections and themes in your work
- Suggesting alternative ideas or approaches
- Organising complex information in clear ways
- Handling routine tasks so you can focus on strategy
The final decisions are always yours.
How do we use AI in Ayoa?
Mind Map Enhancement
- Suggests related topics and ideas
- Expands thinking with relevant content
- Helps plot out logical structures
- Sparks creativity with fresh suggestions
Audio Transcription
- Converts speech into text
- Captures meeting notes and voice ideas
- Makes audio content accessible
Content Processing
- Supports translation, import/export, and content structuring
Who are our AI service providers?
All of our AI Service Providers are assessed against our internal AI governance framework, informed by UK GDPR requirements, ICO guidance on AI and data protection, NCSC guidance and ISO/IEC 42001:2023.
OpenAI (Generative AI)
- Powers idea generation and content creation
- May retain inputs/outputs for up to 30 days to detect misuse
- UK GDPR Compliant data management per OpenAI’s privacy policy and Data Protection Agreement
- No data is used for model training
- Hosted Microsoft Azure with enterprise-grade cloud security (encryption, monitoring, compliance with ISO27001, SOC2, UKGDPR, HIPAA)
DeepGram (Audio Transcription)
- Converts audio to text, provides audio capture and transcription
- UK GDPR Compliant data management per DeepGram’s privacy policy and Data Protection Agreement
- Enterprise-grade provision on AWS infrastructure with global compliance and security controls
- No data is used for model training
We select AI providers that publish information about their security, safety and governance practices. As part of our supplier assurance programme we review available documentation and contractual commitments before integrating AI services. Our Ayoa team supplements this with regular reviews of AI performance to support continual evolution and accuracy of AI system data in line with standards including the EU AI Act, DUAA, ISO, SOC2 and the Online Safety Act.
How is my data stored and protected?
- Encryption at rest: Databases and file storage use AES–256 or equivalent
- Encryption in transit: All data transmission uses TLS 1.2+
- Hosting locations: Data centres are hosted within the US with enterprise-grade security controls, UK GDPR-compliant Contractual Clauses and Data Protection Agreements. UK only hosting is available, subject to contract. Please speak with support@ayoa.com to discover more.
Where personal data is transferred internationally we implement appropriate safeguards in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
OpenGenius elects to protect all data it processes in line with strict guidelines, and has been externally vetted to confirm compliance with these standards by UKAS-accredited bodies, who have certified us in ISO27001:2022, Cyber Essentials + and, due to our commitment to securing critical data, we have been awarded the right to supply to the UK Public Sector, via G-Cloud 15.
We have embedded the UK Government standard ‘Secure By Design’ throughout our development and operations and are ready to supply to the Defence sector, due to our robust security protections classified against the MOD Standard.
What are the risks of using AI?
Data and Technical risks
- AI features rely on third-party service providers and may be temporarily unavailable if those services experience disruption. Please note, without AI features, core functionality of Ayoa remains available – you can even choose to toggle off AI in your settings at any time to demonstrate this!
- Data processing is required for AI to function and you control what data you share with Ayoa and our AI processors. Any data you opt to use as input for AI in Ayoa could be visible to our providers for up to 30 days (legitimate interest: abuse detection)
- While data is processed by our AI and Platform partners, this is subject to strict safeguards defined in Data Processing Agreements, aligned with UK GDPR – including advanced encryption and enterprise-grade data protection protocols.
- AI outputs may occasionally contain inaccuracies, omissions or unexpected results and should always be reviewed before use.
- Certain AI features within Ayoa are subject to the transparency obligations of the EU AI Act because users interact with AI-generated content. We therefore clearly identify AI functionality and provide information about how AI is used.
How do we manage these risks?
- Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of performance, security, availability and supplier assurance
- Data protection: All processing follows strict privacy and classification policies in line with GDPR Article 22 as a minimum, and includes ongoing management of our vendors and measuring their performance against pre-agreed terms
- Security: ISO 27001:2022 and Cyber Essentials+ certified, with regular audits (internal and external) plus alignment with the latest NCSC governance. In 2026 we introduced compliance with the new global AI safety standard: ISO 42001:2023. All of our AI operations encompass the robust diligence described in this standard in accordance with our role as AI Deployer, and are designed to keep data safe at all times.
- Fallback: Core Ayoa features continue to work even if AI is unavailable – you can test this yourself by toggling off AI in your app settings!
If ever you have a concern surrounding data protection or the use of AI in our products, please do let us know by emailing support@ayoa.com
Why is information shared with AI providers?
When you choose to use an AI feature, the information necessary to generate the requested response is securely transmitted to the relevant AI provider.
Only the information needed to perform the requested task is shared.
We use contractual, technical and organisational measures to protect customer information throughout this process.
How do we govern AI?
OpenGenius has established an AI governance framework that is integrated into our wider information security, privacy and risk management processes.
This includes:
- AI risk assessments
- supplier due diligence
- privacy assessments where appropriate
- ongoing monitoring
- incident management
- regular review of emerging regulation
- continual improvement
- ongoing training of staff including major incident simulation exercises
Is AI supervised by people?
Yes.
AI-generated outputs are intended to support users rather than replace human judgement.
Users remain responsible for reviewing AI-generated content before relying upon it, and Ayoa is designed to ensure people remain in control of important decisions.
Where appropriate we review AI-enabled features for quality, reliability and ongoing performance as part of our AI governance processes.
Does AI in Ayoa create plagiarism risks?
Ayoa’s AI is designed to assist your thinking and organisation, not to write essays or finish academic work for you. Ayoa provides suggestions, prompts, and structuring ideas that you can build on, but the final content is always yours.
You must not present AI generated content as your own or fail to acknowledge where AI has assisted you. It is important to note that any AI output you use is your responsibility. Your academic institution or workplace should provide you with guidelines on acceptable use of AI and may use detection tools to identify examples of plagiarism. If you are not sure, please feel free to contact us.
Our recommendations:
- AI-generated suggestions may draw on patterns from training data. Always check the output – it is not recommended that you copy or reproduce AI output material verbatim.
- Never share sensitive information as input for AI. Use AI responsibly and with consideration for data protection at all times.
- You remain responsible for ensuring that any final work (essays, reports, research) follows academic integrity, copyright, intellectual property and citation standards.
- We encourage all users, especially students, to use AI as a creative assistant and idea organiser, not as a substitute for original writing or critical thinking.
This way, Ayoa helps you spark ideas, save time, and stay organised while keeping your work authentically yours.
Who owns AI-generated content?
Content created using Ayoa remains under the control of the customer.
Users remain responsible for ensuring any published content complies with copyright, intellectual property and applicable organisational policies.
How do you help users use AI responsibly?
We believe users should understand when AI is being used, what it can and cannot do, and where human judgement remains essential.
We therefore:
- clearly label AI-powered features
- explain when AI is processing information
- encourage users to review AI outputs
- provide guidance on responsible use of AI
- Train our staff on AI literacy and Information Data Security (per ISO standards)
Can organisations disable AI?
Yes.
Administrators and users can choose whether AI-enabled functionality is available.
Core Ayoa functionality remains available without AI.
What if a data breach occurs?
OpenGenius Ltd operates robust business continuity and disaster recovery procedures which are tested as a minimum on an annual basis, and vetted externally by impartial third parties against strict safety standards. An overview of our response to major information security incidents:
- Incident response: In line with our internally designed, ISO 27001:2022 compliant service continuity procedures
- Client notification: Within 48 hours of discovering a breach affecting your data
- Regulatory reporting: ICO notified within 72 hours if required under GDPR
- Support: Assistance with account security, recovery, and extra safeguards
We maintain open communication throughout any incident resolution. If you become aware of a security incident, AI-related vulnerability or would like to report an issue or request concerning your data, please disclose this responsibly by contacting us at support@ayoa.com
Why have we chosen to use AI?
Although Ayoa works well without AI, we embrace new technology and want to ensure Ayoa users have the best opportunities and possibilities with ideation, visualisation, collaboration and achieving their goals. AI provides an enhanced experience that supports the thinking process and sparks creativity and problem solving.
- Supporting Neurodiversity: AI options present multiple ways to access and organise information
- Creativity: AI amplifies human ideas, it doesn’t replace them!
- Accessibility: AI helps to simplify planning and help make complex tasks more manageable
- Competitiveness: Providing cutting-edge tools in our products help us to match needs in a dynamic and evolving world – in education and the workplace.
What are the benefits of AI in Ayoa?
- Personalisation: AI can be used to provide tailored suggestions for your projects, and has helped us to create adaptive interfaces, meaning users can choose options to benefit how they interact with Ayoa
- Productivity: AI can significantly help with saving time in your Ayoa project. Use it to spark ideas, transcribe heavy loads of data, video or audio files, create images to make your work pop, or simply to organise your tasks in a structured, cohesive way.
- Accessibility: We’ve factored AI into our neuro-inclusive design specifications to help us to support diverse thinking and learning styles. AI powered features and settings help Ayoa users to choose options that best support their needs.
Where and when is AI used in Ayoa?
Ayoa uses AI as a visual thinking and brainstorming assistant. It generates full mind maps from text prompts, expands individual branches with new ideas, summarises long documents, and converts outside media like YouTube videos, audio files, physical sticky notes, or PDFs into structured digital mind maps.
Idea generation and brainstorming
- Prompt to map: Type a core topic or title and the AI builds an initial, organised layout of branches from scratch.
- Branch expansion: Click on any existing branch to ask the AI for more related ideas, follow-up questions, or simple explanations.
- Neuro-settings: Tailor how the AI formats text by choosing simplified language or concise sentence structures to match your personal workflow.
Content import and conversion
- Document summaries: Upload PDFs, Word files, or PowerPoint slides to break complex data into manageable mind map branches.
- Media transcription: Paste a YouTube URL or upload up to 60 minutes of audio to automatically turn spoken content into a visual map.
- Physical capture: Take a photo of real-life sticky notes and let the software convert them into an editable digital project
The use of AI is optional, only available on our Ayoa Ultimate plan, and only runs when you engage with it. You can see AI functionality clearly labelled throughout Ayoa to help you stay in control at all times – and you can disable AI features in your app settings at any time.
Who can you contact with questions?
For any concerns about AI features, data security, or privacy:
support@ayoa.com
Our commitment to transparency
We believe you have the right to understand how AI is used in Ayoa. Clear communication builds trust and helps you make informed choices.
This information is provided as part of our commitment to transparency and is regularly updated to reflect our current AI practices and emerging governance globally. For further information, please refer to our privacy policy and terms of service.
