Companies Are Selling Employees’ Private Slack Messages and Emails to Train AI—Often Without Workers’ Knowledge

October 21, 2026

A headset for calling and a laptop

(IB Times) – As corporate data changes hands, workers face a troubling question: Who really owns their digital footprints?

Companies are increasingly licensing workplace emails, Slack messages, and internal documents to AI developers, creating a lucrative market that some employees may not know about. As AI firms race to automate office jobs, businesses are receiving six-figure offers for their digital records, sometimes with just 48 hours to decide.

These deals can generate substantial revenue, but they also raise questions about employee privacy, consent, and who should benefit financially from the information workers create. (Read More)