Your teams already use AI. You don't know which.
“Have my employees started using AI without telling me?”
The observation
67% of employees use AI tools at work. But only 12% of organizations can name ALL the tools in use (Gartner). More than one employee in two uses tools their employer did not provide. And among those using AI without their employer's knowledge, 75% have already sent sensitive data to a public tool — a contract, a financial statement, a client list that left for a third party's servers. This is not a hypothetical risk: it's a measured observation.
use AI · can name which
67% of employees use AI tools (Salesforce 2026). Only 12% of organizations can name all the tools in use (Gartner 2026).
How we handle this topic
Take inventory, without accusing anyone
The first step isn't to ban: it's to know what is being used and why. We almost always find that workarounds answer a real need — painful reporting, slow research, repetitive data entry.
Replace the workaround with a framed tool
When an official tool does just as well, the workaround disappears on its own. We don't ask teams to go without: we give them something better, with the data staying inside.
Written, understandable usage rules
Which data never leaves, which tools are allowed, who validates. Short rules, known, that don't get in the way of the work.
Make leaks visible before they happen
Usage monitoring, alerts on sensitive data, logging. The goal isn't to police people: it's to be able to answer the question "what went out, and when?"
What it changes for you
- You know which AI tools are circulating inside your company
- Sensitive data no longer leaves through personal accounts
- Teams keep a tool that helps them, but a controlled one
- You can answer a client or an auditor about what is circulating
The limit, stated plainly: A usage policy doesn't eliminate workarounds: it makes them visible and progressively useless. And the inventory takes a little time. What's expensive isn't doing it — it's discovering it during an incident.
Is your situation specific?
This topic is handled case by case. The assessment frames it around your numbers, not in the abstract.