---
title: "Z.ai | Ethical Stack"
url: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/
catalog_version: f6baff2119d0e9158520da7fbe4232011dac79f25bd08757436d7a1dbd593db2
---

# Z.ai

Z.ai’s hosted GLM assistant for chat, search, and multimodal tasks.

Canonical profile: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/

Scope: Z.ai consumer web chat under the individual-user policy; excludes business/API services and ZCode.

Published overall: 3.2; 5/6 dimensions rated.

Round the equal-weight mean of available numerical ratings to one decimal; require at least four of six for an overall score. BDS status stays outside the mean; for eligible profiles, a boycott target caps the final score at 2/10 and a pressure target subtracts one point (minimum 1). Not listed and not checked do not adjust the score.

## Energy practices

Finding: 3/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/#energy

Public docs establish the Z.ai consumer chat service route; they do not establish its request-level physical footprint. The interface exposes changing GLM models and task modes; model choice is a workload control, though no energy reduction is measured.

Reason: 1 + 1 reporting + 0 electricity + 1 controls = 3/10. This grades documented practices and transparency.

Argument: This practices and disclosure grade covers Z.ai consumer chat service. Public product/API documentation establishes how this route operates and the listed user controls, but gives no measured per-request energy, emissions or water. A corporate electricity claim is not allocated to this route.

Type: argument; confidence: medium

Scope (dimension): Z.ai consumer chat service

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Request-level electricity, emissions, water use, serving utilization and any route-specific clean-power matching are not reported for Z.ai consumer chat service.

```json
{
  "method": "practices-transparency-v1",
  "scope": "Z.ai consumer chat service",
  "components": {
    "disclosure": {
      "score": 1,
      "reason": "Official documentation describes the Z.ai consumer chat service operating boundary, but does not publish a dated quantitative energy, emissions or water result for this route.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://chat.z.ai/",
        "https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service"
      ]
    },
    "electricity": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "The reviewed sources do not map Z.ai consumer chat service to a site-specific electricity mix or time-matched clean-power supply.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://chat.z.ai/",
        "https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service"
      ]
    },
    "demand": {
      "score": 1,
      "reason": "The interface exposes changing GLM models and task modes; model choice is a workload control, though no energy reduction is measured.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://chat.z.ai/",
        "https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service"
      ]
    }
  },
  "actualImpactMeasured": false
}
```

- [Z.ai chat](https://chat.z.ai/) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Z.ai Terms of Use](https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Training data

Finding: Depends on the model

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/#training-rights

The service may change among GLM versions; select the model/version separately to evaluate training corpus and rights evidence.

Reason: The service may change among GLM versions; select the model/version separately to evaluate training corpus and rights evidence.

Argument: The consumer policy concerns use of submitted chats for service improvement and training. It does not establish the training-data provenance or permissions for the GLM weights served by the selected model.

Type: argument; confidence: medium

Scope (profile): Z.ai consumer web chat under the individual-user policy; excludes business/API services and ZCode.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Exact model/version, corpus inventory, source permissions, post-training data, and creator remedies vary or remain unpublished for the selected route.

```json
{
  "method": "training-rights-evidence-v1",
  "scope": "The stated training release or selected model",
  "components": null,
  "routeDependency": "The service may change among GLM versions; select the model/version separately to evaluate training corpus and rights evidence.",
  "modelReference": null
}
```

- [Z.ai Privacy Policy for Individual Users](https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/privacy-policy) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Z.ai chat](https://chat.z.ai/) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Your data & privacy

Finding: 3/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/#privacy

The individual-user policy says prompts and other user content are processed to provide the service; it also describes use of service data to improve and develop products and models.

Reason: Content is processed for the service and may support improvement/model training; deletion controls exist, while route retention and a training opt-out are not clearly bounded.

Argument: Z.ai’s individual-user policy covers the website and apps, collects prompt content and usage details, and says it may use information to improve and develop services, including model training. Users can delete conversations and request deletion, but the policy does not set a fixed prompt-retention window or a clear training opt-out in the reviewed text.

Type: argument; confidence: medium

Scope (profile): Z.ai consumer web chat under the individual-user policy; excludes business/API services and ZCode.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Exact prompt retention, regional processing for each feature, and whether a separate setting excludes conversations from model improvement need checking in current account settings.

- [Z.ai Privacy Policy for Individual Users](https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/privacy-policy) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Z.ai Terms of Use](https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Openness

Finding: 2/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/#openness

A hosted consumer assistant; no self-hostable runtime or downloadable Z.ai service weights are supplied with this app.

Reason: Hosted consumer service without a self-deployable product runtime in the reviewed scope.

Argument: The consumer app exposes a hosted interface and feature set, while its reviewed materials do not provide deployable serving code or service weights. This rating covers the hosted product, not GLM model releases.

Type: argument; confidence: medium

Scope (profile): Z.ai consumer web chat under the individual-user policy; excludes business/API services and ZCode.

Research reviewed: not recorded; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: The GLM model family may have separate public weights, licensing, and deployment terms; these do not change the app runtime.

- [Z.ai chat](https://chat.z.ai/) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Z.ai Privacy Policy for Individual Users](https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/privacy-policy) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Z.ai Terms of Use](https://chat.z.ai/legal-agreement/terms-of-service) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Worker protections

Finding: 1/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/#labour

Z.ai’s company and GLM model materials reviewed do not establish employment protections, worker voice, supplier labor standards or labor assurance.

Reason: 1 + 0 pay & conditions + 0 worker voice & remedy + 0 evidence & follow-through = 1/10. This grades documented worker safeguards, not a measured rate of mistreatment.

Argument: The sources reviewed provide product, terms, or corporate information but no qualifying disclosure about conditions for data annotators, evaluators, moderators, or infrastructure workers. This is a disclosure gap within the checked materials, not evidence that workers are mistreated or that no labor policy exists. This entry carries the same developer/operator finding to Z.ai; it does not establish that this product was deployed under every cited relationship.

Type: argument; confidence: low

Scope (dimension): JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE. LTD. (Z.ai): the documented developer/operator record, not proof of deployment of Z.ai.

Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Worker counts, locations, pay, labor protections, worker voice mechanisms, supplier coverage, and independent audit or remediation outcomes were not established in the sources reviewed.

```json
{
  "method": "worker-safeguards-evidence-v1",
  "entity": "zhipu",
  "company": "Zhipu AI / Z.ai",
  "scope": "Zhipu AI / Z.ai's workforce and disclosed contractors. Coverage of individual product teams may be incomplete.",
  "components": {
    "conditions": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "Reviewed sources provide no qualifying disclosure of worker conditions; this zero is limited to the checked material and is not an exhaustive claim.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://z.ai/company",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE"
      ]
    },
    "voice": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No qualifying worker-voice mechanism or documented worker grievance outcomes were disclosed in the reviewed material.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://z.ai/company",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE"
      ]
    },
    "assurance": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No independent labor audit results, worker-level corroboration, or remediation outcomes were disclosed in the reviewed material.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://z.ai/company",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE"
      ]
    }
  },
  "disclosureLimited": true,
  "meaning": "This grades documented worker safeguards, not a measured rate of mistreatment."
}
```

- [Z.ai company and GLM model overview](https://z.ai/company) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Z.ai model releases](https://huggingface.co/zai-org) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [glm-5-3 official license](https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## Military ties

Finding: 7/10

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/#military-contracts

No Z.ai defense contract or deployment is identified; legacy ChatGLM2 restrictions are not generalized to current GLM models.

Reason: 7 base + 0 safeguard adjustment = 7/10 (0 of 9 safeguard points; every 3 adds 1). No military relationship was established in the cited sources. This ranks above known defense ties without claiming a verified clean record.

Argument: Z.ai’s current company and GLM-5.3 materials reviewed do not establish a defense contract or military deployment. A military-purpose clause in a separate legacy ChatGLM2 license is not generalized to GLM-5.3 or the company; no relevant restriction is credited without model-specific evidence. This entry carries the same developer/operator finding to Z.ai; it does not establish that this product was deployed under every cited relationship.

Type: argument; confidence: low

Scope (dimension): JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE. LTD. (Z.ai): the documented developer/operator record, not proof of deployment of Z.ai.

Research reviewed: 2026-10-24; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: Complete contract texts, undisclosed customers, end-use restrictions, actual workload deployment, and independent compliance or outcome reports are unavailable in the reviewed public material.

```json
{
  "method": "military-ties-priority-v2",
  "entity": "zhipu",
  "company": "Zhipu AI / Z.ai",
  "scope": "Zhipu AI / Z.ai's relationships and safeguards. A company relationship does not identify every product or release used.",
  "components": {
    "restrictions": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "The reviewed terms or policy material contains no qualifying military-use restriction beyond general lawfulness/export compliance; this zero is limited to the reviewed source set.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://z.ai/company",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE"
      ]
    },
    "oversight": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No military-specific review, enforcement, or remedy mechanism was disclosed in the sources reviewed.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://z.ai/company",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE"
      ]
    },
    "transparency": {
      "score": 0,
      "reason": "No military-specific relationship or military-specific transparency policy was disclosed in the materials reviewed; this is a scoped disclosure finding.",
      "sourceUrls": [
        "https://z.ai/company",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org",
        "https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE"
      ]
    }
  },
  "relationship": "not-established",
  "relationshipReason": "The reviewed Z.ai company and model materials do not identify a defense contract or military deployment. A ChatGLM2 model license contains a military-purpose restriction, but that legacy model-specific license is not treated as a blanket current company policy.",
  "score": 7,
  "baseScore": 7,
  "safeguardPoints": 0,
  "safeguardAdjustment": 0,
  "rawScore": 7,
  "cap": null,
  "disclosureLimited": true,
  "meaning": "Known military relationships take priority over missing safeguards. The rating does not establish the probability of an undisclosed contract."
}
```

- [Z.ai company and GLM model overview](https://z.ai/company) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [Z.ai model releases](https://huggingface.co/zai-org) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

- [glm-5-3 official license](https://huggingface.co/zai-org/GLM-5.3/blob/main/LICENSE) (primary; checked 2026-10-24)

## BDS targets

Finding: Not listed

Assessment: https://ethicalstack.ai/products/zai-chat/#israel-palestine

We did not find Z.ai among the named targets in the two official BNC campaign lists checked on 2026-10-23. This is a limited list check, not BDS approval.

Reason: BDS campaign status is a factual category, not a 1–10 ethical rating.

Argument: Z.ai is not a named target in the checked lists, but BDS uses selective campaigns, so absence cannot establish a clean record. Running downloaded weights locally is a different decision from paying the developer or a cloud host; check the host as well. This entry carries the same developer/operator finding to Z.ai; it does not establish that this product was deployed under every cited relationship.

Type: evidence; confidence: medium

Scope (dimension): JINGSHENG HENGXING TECHNOLOGY PTE. LTD. (Z.ai): the documented developer/operator record, not proof of deployment of Z.ai.

Research reviewed: 2026-10-23; evidence date: not recorded

Unknowns: This review covers the named targets in the BNC consumer/pressure guide and No Tech campaign, not every BDS campaign, local group, investment or supplier. Lists and ownership can change. A company’s absence from these lists is not an endorsement or proof that it has no relevant relationships.

- [BNC target list (not checked for this company)](https://bdsmovement.net/Guide-to-BDS-Boycott) (campaign; checked 2026-10-24)

- [BNC target list (not checked for this company)](https://bdsmovement.net/no-tech-oppression-apartheid-or-genocide) (campaign; checked 2026-10-24)

## Reading the evidence

- Assessments are provisional editorial judgments. Cite the profile and the underlying sources, and retain confidence, scope and unknowns.

- Unknown, not-applicable and model-dependent are different states. Missing evidence does not establish good or bad conduct.

- Company-level evidence does not establish use of a particular product or model. Account plan, model, host and route can change an assessment.

- Energy scores describe documented practices and transparency, not measured request emissions. Zero component points can mean an evidence gap.

- Published overall scores require at least four of six numerical dimensions. Preserve coverage and BDS adjustments; BDS itself is categorical.

- No named BDS target found is limited to the reviewed campaign sources and is not approval. Personalized priorities do not change the published overall score.

- Review and source-check dates describe the research, not this deployment. Fetch current primary sources when the decision requires current verification.

Methodology: https://ethicalstack.ai/methodology/