How to Keep AI From Reading Your Google Docs
Several AI features and connected apps can access Google Docs depending on the permissions you have granted. Here is how to review account settings, document access, and connected-app permissions to limit what AI tools can read.
Updated 5 min read
Several AI tools can read Google Docs: Google's own Gemini features, third-party apps you have authorized, and any AI tool that can access your Google Drive. Whether you want to limit AI access for privacy, confidentiality, or simply because a document contains sensitive information, the controls exist but are spread across different settings.
The decision about which AI tools may access your organization's documents is a team-level call, not just a personal one. A tool like fenbs lets your team record the approved sharing rules so that decision is visible to everyone and reviewed when tools or policies change.
Review Google Account connected apps
Any third-party app that you have authorized through your Google Account may be able to read files in Google Drive, including Docs, Sheets and Slides. Review which apps have been granted access by visiting your Google Account security settings.
Go to your Google Account (opens in a new tab) and open the section for third-party apps with account access. You will see a list of apps that have been authorized and the permissions each one holds. Remove apps you no longer use or did not intentionally authorize.
Pay particular attention to any app that shows "See, edit, create, and delete all of your Google Drive files." That is broad access. If an AI tool you installed months ago still holds that permission and you are no longer using it, remove it.
Manage Gemini and Google AI features
Google's own AI features, including Gemini in Google Docs and other Workspace apps, can read your documents when you use them. These features are controlled through Google Workspace settings, which vary depending on whether you use a personal Google account or a Workspace account through an organization.
For a personal account, AI features in Google Docs are generally tied to whether you have enabled Gemini in Google Account settings. For a Workspace account, your administrator controls which AI features are available and for which users. If you want to restrict AI access in a Workspace environment, the relevant settings are in the Google Workspace admin console.
Check the Google Workspace help center (opens in a new tab) for current documentation on AI and data governance controls, as these settings are updated as the products evolve.
Control sharing at the document level
Beyond account-level settings, document sharing controls who can read a file. A document set to "Anyone with the link can view" is accessible to any AI tool that follows a link, including AI web browsing features. Change sensitive documents to "Restricted" so only named people can open them.
In Google Docs, open the sharing settings for the document and review who has access. Remove anyone who no longer needs it, and change the general access setting if it is broader than you intended.
For documents that should never leave your organization, use a Workspace account rather than a personal one. Workspace administrators can prevent documents from being shared outside the organization's domain entirely.
Check AI writing assistants and plugins
Google Docs supports add-ons and integrations that appear inside the document editor. Some of these are AI writing tools that read your document content to provide suggestions. Review which add-ons are installed by opening the Add-ons menu in a Google Doc.
Remove add-ons you did not install deliberately or no longer use. An add-on that reads document content to help with writing has access to the full text of whatever file you have open. If a document contains sensitive information, check whether any active add-on could read it.
For a broader review of Google AI tools and their settings, see Google AI tools. For guidance on stopping an agent from making changes rather than just reading documents, how to keep an AI agent from wrecking your board covers controls at the task level.
Set team rules for document sharing
Individual account reviews help, but team rules prevent the problem from recurring. Which AI tools are approved to read shared documents? What categories of document should never be connected to an AI tool? Who reviews new tool requests?
A written rule for this does not need to be long. "AI tools approved for document access: [list]. Documents containing client data, health information, or financial records must not be connected to any AI tool without written approval from [name]." Two sentences like those remove most of the ambiguity.
Record the approved document-sharing rules
Write your approved document-sharing and AI-access rules as Decisions in fenbs. Connected AI tools read those rules first, so the policy stays visible to every team member and every assistant you use. fenbs does not enforce Google's controls, but it keeps the agreed decisions where they can be found and reviewed.
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How to do this with fenbs
- Create a free account. Start a project for your team's document-sharing and AI governance rules.
- Add a Decision naming which AI tools may access shared documents and under what conditions.
- Add a Decision for document categories that are off-limits for AI access.
- Connect your AI apps over MCP from Integrations so they read the Decisions before acting on documents.
- Review the Decisions when a new AI tool is proposed or when Google's AI features change.
A personal board is free and a good place to track your own access rules. A team board gives each member a role and keeps the History of every policy change.