Trust and data
Private Answer Systems on Your Own Infrastructure
The short answer
A private answer system answers questions from your website visitors or staff using only content you have approved, and it runs on infrastructure you control. We deploy My Chat Assistant, our self-hosted answer engine powered by CQI Bot, as its own install alongside your website, so conversation records and the search index never sit on a vendor's platform.
How It Answers
By default the system runs in retrieval-only mode. Every answer comes directly from your indexed pages or from question-and-answer pairs your team has approved. Nothing is generated or invented, and no AI provider is called.
Questions are matched to your content with local search ranking that recognizes what kind of question is being asked, so a pricing question finds your pricing page rather than any page that happens to mention the same words. Each answer links back to the page it came from.
Connecting an AI provider to compose fuller answers is optional, and it is your decision. Even then, the model works only from content that has already been retrieved from your own site.
Built for the Questions a Regulated Buyer Asks First
Safeguarding Detection
Messages are checked for safeguarding language before any answer is given. A match returns a fixed response your team has reviewed, with the offer of a person, and the visitor is never cut off.
Personal Data Redaction
Email addresses, phone numbers, UK National Insurance numbers, NHS numbers, and dates of birth are removed from what is stored, on every message, before anything is written to disk.
Retention You Set
Conversation records are kept for 90 days by default. You can shorten or extend that, export records, or purge them early.
A Route to a Person
An always-available "talk to a person" option passes the conversation to your team by email or a messaging channel you choose, and the system offers it automatically when it cannot answer confidently.
Safeguards and Defaults at a Glance
| Safeguard | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Retrieval-only answers | Answers only from your indexed pages and approved answers, each linked to its source | On |
| AI provider connection | Optional fuller answers, composed only from content already retrieved from your site | Off until you connect your own |
| Safeguarding detection | Returns a fixed response your team has reviewed, with the offer of a person | On |
| Personal data redaction | Removes email addresses, phone numbers, National Insurance and NHS numbers, and dates of birth before storage | On, every message |
| Conversation retention | Keeps records for a set period, then purges them; export or purge early at any time | 90 days, adjustable |
| Talk to a person | Passes the conversation to your team by email or a messaging channel you choose | Always available |
A Dedicated Install, Not One More Plugin
The answer system runs as its own install next to whatever platform your website uses. It does not depend on that platform's core, its update cycle, or its plugins, and it keeps its records in its own local database rather than inside your website's database.
That separation answers the question a security review asks first: what else is running on this server, and what can it reach.
See it in practice
Built and Run by Us
My Chat Assistant
Our self-hosted answer engine, powered by CQI Bot. Retrieval-only by default, with safeguarding detection, redaction, and human handover built in.
Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a private answer system need an AI provider?
No. It runs in retrieval-only mode by default, answering directly from your content. Connecting an AI provider is optional and under your control.
Where does it run?
On standard web hosting or a server you control, in the jurisdiction you choose. It does not need a vendor platform.
What happens when a visitor sends a difficult or sensitive message?
Safeguarding language is detected before any answer is given. The system returns a fixed response your team has reviewed and offers a person, rather than generating a reply.
How long are conversations kept?
Ninety days by default. You can change the retention period, export records, or purge them early.
Keep reading
Related
Start with a Confidential Chat
A no-obligation conversation with H D Fraser about how answer engines represent your organization today, and what a privacy-first approach would involve. NDA on request.