What is DeepSeek, and should a business use it?
DeepSeek is an AI assistant offered through a web chat, a mobile app and an API by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. Its privacy policy says it directly collects, processes and stores personal data in the People’s Republic of China. A business that handles customer details usually checks where a tool stores them, and what its policy says, before putting anything private in.
What DeepSeek’s own pages say
DeepSeek’s home page offers a web version of its chat at chat.deepseek.com, a mobile app and an open platform for its API. Its privacy policy, last updated February 10, 2026, names Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd. as the company behind the services.
What the privacy policy says about data
The policy says the personal data it collects “may be stored on a server located outside of the country where you live”. It also says that it will “store your Personal Data in People's Republic of China”.
On what it may collect, the policy lists text input, voice input, prompts, uploaded files, photos, feedback and chat history. It says people can manage, copy or delete their chat history in settings.
That is a summary of one company’s policy as of the date above, and policies change. Read the current policy for the exact service you would use.
Should a business use it?
That depends on the task. A business that handles customer details usually checks where a tool stores them before using it, and a contract, a regulator or customers themselves may expect details to stay in a certain place. For legal questions about that, ask an attorney.
Three plain questions help with any AI tool: where does it store what I type, can I delete it, and who in my business may use it. A policy that answers them in plain words is usually easier to rely on than one that does not, and a free tool is not exempt from them.
As general advice, keep customer details out of any chat tool whose terms you have not read. The related answer on putting customer information into ChatGPT lists what usually stays out of any chat tool. If staff use AI tools, a short allowed-tools list helps; the related answer on an AI policy for employees shows how.
Do customers use it to find businesses?
Nothing cited here measures how many customers use DeepSeek to find a business. What sets this page apart is the data-location question above, which is about your own use of the tool, not your customers'. If a customer tells you DeepSeek sent them, ask it the questions they would have asked and compare its answer with what the related answer on checking what AI says about your business finds in the other assistants. No one can promise that any assistant will recommend a particular business.
Sources
Related answers
- Is it safe to put customer information into ChatGPT or another AI tool?
- Does a small business need an AI policy for its employees?
- How do you check what ChatGPT says about your business?
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