AI Tools

Understand how PEARS AI tools work, what data is sent to OpenAI, and how each feature is used.

PEARS includes AI-powered features that use OpenAI to assist with content generation and data analysis. When enabled, certain data from your records is sent to OpenAI for processing.

NOTE: Data sent to OpenAI is processed in accordance with OpenAI's Enterprise Privacy Policy. Data remains confidential and is not used for model training. Organizations should contact PEARS Support with questions regarding implementation, data privacy, or technical specifications before enabling AI tools.

Enabling AI Tools

AI tools are controlled from Organization Settings → General → AI Tools (open the cog icon in the top navigation bar, then select Organization Settings). The page begins with a Use AI Tools master toggle, and granular controls appear for each AI feature once the master toggle is enabled:

• Module Builder AI — Generate custom modules from natural language descriptions

• Survey Analysis — Generate summaries of survey response data

• Story Summary — Generate summaries of success story narratives

• Public Value Editor — Draft public value statements from action plan context

• AI Entry — Draft a CRM contact or interaction from a dictated or typed description

Each feature can be enabled or disabled independently. Disabling the master toggle turns off all AI features at once.

Module Builder AI

The Module Builder AI is a conversational planner that helps you design a custom module step by step. It appears as the Generate Module with AI button on the Module Builder list page.

See Create a Module > Generate a Module with AI for the full walkthrough.

Data sent to OpenAI

Data	Description
Your chat messages	The natural language description of the module you want to create, plus any follow-up messages during the conversation (clarifications, feedback, refinements)
Element type reference	Descriptions of available field types (text, number, date, select, etc.)
Linked model reference	Descriptions of models available for linking in your organization
Built-in settings reference	Descriptions of standard General Information settings (program areas, reporting periods, action plans, unit, site, uploads, comments)
Slug availability checks	Module identifier values checked for uniqueness

TIP: The Module Builder AI does not send individual records or personal data. It receives only your description of the desired form structure and reference information about available field types and organization settings.

Survey Analysis

Survey Analysis generates an evaluator-style analysis of collected survey response data for a single survey delivery. It appears as an Analyze button next to each attached survey in the Evaluation section of a program activity.

The analysis is organized into:

• Evidence-based findings — Patterns grounded in the actual response data.

• Data-quality caveats — Limitations such as small response counts or incomplete data.

• Action plan alignment (when the program is linked to an action plan) — Each outcome grouped by Short Term, Medium Term, and Long Term, with a verdict of Supported, Partially Supported, Not Supported, or No Data.

• Recommended next steps — Specific suggestions tied to the findings.

Findings, caveats, and recommendations include inline reference numbers that link to the specific responses the AI used to support each claim. A Sources section at the bottom of the analysis lists every referenced response with a link back to the underlying record, so you can verify the conclusions against your data.

TIP: The analysis is generated in the background — the page loads immediately and shows a rotating status loader while the summary is being written. You can leave the page and return; the completed summary will be saved.

Data sent to OpenAI

Data	Description
All survey responses	Every response collected for the selected survey delivery, structured as question-answer pairs. For each respondent, every question on the survey is included along with the respondent's answer (either free-text or the selected response option).
Program and survey metadata	The program activity's name and program area, and the survey's type, purpose, and timing (e.g., pre/post).
Linked action plan intent	When the program activity is linked to an action plan, the plan's outcomes and indicators are included so the analysis can evaluate alignment.

The response data is sent as a structured dataset where each row represents one respondent and each column represents one survey question. Both the question text and the answer text are included.

NOTE: Survey Analysis sends the complete text of all collected responses for the selected survey. If survey questions collect open-ended text responses that may contain personal or sensitive information, that text will be included in the data sent to OpenAI.

Story Summary

Story Summary generates a concise summary of success story narratives linked to an action plan. It appears on the Outputs section of an Action Plan Report, where the Activities Dashboard displays linked records.

When enabled, the Activities Dashboard shows an AI-generated summary alongside the success stories count. When disabled, a random favorite quote from one of the linked stories is shown instead.

Data sent to OpenAI

Data	Description
Story narratives	The full Body (story narrative) field from every success story linked to the action plan. If the action plan is a state-level or multi-state plan, stories linked to child plans are also included.

TIP: Only the story narrative text is sent. Other success story fields (title, keywords, SNAP-Ed data, uploads, collaborators, etc.) are not included.

Public Value Editor

The Public Value Editor helps draft a public value statement for an action plan. It appears as a toolbar button in the Public Value rich text editor on the Situation Assessment form.

Clicking the button opens a modal that displays the context fields that will be used, an optional additional context area, and a Generate button. You can preview the result, rate it, regenerate, and then insert it into the editor.

Data sent to OpenAI

Data	Description
Needs assessment results	The current value of the Brief description of assessment results field on the same form
Situation statement	The current value of the Situation statement field on the same form
Additional context (optional)	Any free-text guidance you type into the modal before generating

TIP: The modal shows you exactly which fields will be sent before you click Generate. Only the three fields listed above are included — no other action plan data is sent.

AI Entry

AI Entry drafts a CRM contact or interaction from a plain-language description. It appears as Start with AI on the interaction form, and as Fill in with AI or Update with AI on the contact form.

Dictation is handled by your browser's built-in speech recognition, so your voice is not sent to OpenAI — only the resulting text is. Typing the description instead works identically.

The AI proposes field values, you review them, and nothing is saved until you submit the form yourself. For the full walkthrough, see AI Entry.

Data sent to OpenAI

Data	Description
Your description	The text you typed or dictated describing the contact or interaction
Form field reference	The fields available on the form being drafted, so the AI knows what it can fill in
Contact matches	For interactions, the names identified in your description are checked against existing contacts so you can confirm each one

NOTE: AI Entry never drafts demographics. Gender, age, race, and ethnicity are excluded from the request, the response, and the values applied to the form, so they remain something a person always enters deliberately.

Data Summary

The table below summarizes the type of data each AI feature sends to OpenAI.

Feature	Sends user-entered record data?	Sends personal/respondent data?
Module Builder AI	No	No
Survey Analysis	Yes — full survey response text	Potentially — if responses contain open-ended text with personal information
Story Summary	Yes — success story narrative text	No
Public Value Editor	Yes — needs assessment and situation statement text	No
AI Entry	Yes — the description you type or dictate	Potentially — if you describe a contact's personal details. Demographics are always excluded