Discovery of AI Prompts and Chat Logs as Evidence

Prompts, outputs, settings, and related records can be electronically stored information when they are relevant to a claim or defense. Under the current Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, discovery is limited to nonprivileged matters relevant to a claim or defense and proportional to the needs of the case. A prompt is not automatically discoverable merely because it exists, and it is not automatically privileged because a lawyer used an AI tool. Privilege and work-product protection depend on context, purpose, confidentiality, and governing law. Attorney-directed prompts that reveal litigation strategy may present a different question from routine business use or a consumer’s personal chat. A court’s decision is specific to the record, parties, and claims. On May 13, 2025, a magistrate judge in a New York copyright action ordered OpenAI to preserve and segregate certain output-log data. An October 9, 2025 stipulated order terminated the general going-forward obligation effective September 26, 2025, while previously segregated data remained preserved subject to stated exceptions. The stipulation also continued preservation for certain identified-domain accounts. OpenAI’s October 22 update confirmed the general obligation had ended. These were case-specific terms, not a universal order compelling all chats or requiring providers to retain all user data. When a preservation duty may apply, identify relevant systems, custodians, retention settings, exports, attachments, and metadata; suspend deletion only as required by the hold and applicable law. Keep enough version and settings information to authenticate an output when it matters. For discovery requests, assess scope, burden, privacy, relevance, and privilege, and meet and confer about limits and production format. This overview is educational and does not determine what a particular party must preserve or produce.