'Shadow AI becomes a massive enterprise liability': New study claims most of us are now using unauthorized AI tools at work

Date:
Mon, 15 Jun 2026 09:05:00 +0000

Description:
Workers are not just using unapproved AI tools, but also sharing sensitive business and customer information with public AI.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Around half of workers have received warnings about using unapproved AI 88% say they've shared work-related information with public AI Companies are providing AI, but not the AI that workers want New data has revealed that two in three office professionals have used AI tools or services at work even though they knew they weren't permitted by company policy.

A report from PagerDuty found more than half (53%) even received informal guidance or feedback telling them to stop, but many still choose to use their preferred AI services over workplace tools. Nearly as many (48%) also faced formal consequences, like official warnings or disciplinary action proof
that companies are aware of the use of authorized AI. Latest Videos From
Watch full video here: Workers want to use the AI they want to use and not the other way around Despite a clear appetite for artificial intelligence, companies are intent on punishing or discouraging workers from using their preferred tools in favor of pushing their own selection of enterprise-grade tools. But three-quarters (77%) of the workers surveyed said they believe their company's AI restrictions are limiting their professional development, career progression and skills journey.

There's also a gap emerging between business users and company tech departments 72% of workers and 77% of senior leaders believe they know AI better than tech teams. You may like Workers are increasingly using
unapproved AI tools at work, despite knowing the risks Many firms don't know what their workers are sharing with AI tools More and more employees are
using their personal AI accounts at work

As for the tools workers want to use, popular AI chatbots like ChatGPT,
Claude and Gemini are firm favorites. Most (88%) have shared work-related information with public AI systems like these, 43% have uploaded emails, 40% have shared meeting notes, 34% have even entered customer information and 31% have entered sensitive business documents like finances.

"We know the demand for AI is there... The goal for any executive today
should not be to slow down AI adoption, but to redirect that energy into proven platforms that offer governance and automation at scale," PagerDuty
CTO Tim Armandpour said. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up
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While it's clear that demand is there, current tool provisioning isn't
meeting worker needs. To avoid leaking sensitive information, companies could instead try observing how workers use AI and adding enterprise-grade security on top of those, instead. Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/shadow-ai-becomes-a-massive-enterprise-liability -new-study-claims-most-of-us-are-now-using-unauthorized-ai-tools-at-work


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