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Will your organisation be reshaped by Shadow AI?

AI is already a natural part of everyday life in many workplaces, but its use often takes place out of sight. Shadow AI is growing rapidly, creating both new opportunities and serious risks. The question is how to take control.

In conversations with organisations, one question keeps coming up: how do we use AI safely and strategically, starting right now? It’s both exciting and unsettling. AI is already being used at scale – whether for coding, analysing data or supporting daily tasks – but often without oversight. And without visibility, it’s hard to steer in the right direction.

How Shadow AI spreads inside organisations without detection

It often starts with a simple prompt. A developer tests a piece of code in an AI chatbot to get some help. Someone else uploads internal documents to generate summaries. A third person analyses customer data using a cloud‑based AI tool.

But what happens to the information afterwards? We know that some AI services can store user inputs. We know that AI tools can, in some cases, reproduce code fragments from other users. And we know that confidential information has leaked in this way – not through attacks, but through everyday use. This is no longer hypothetical. Shadow AI is a growing reality.

AI has already entered the organisation – not as a future vision, but as part of daily work. Employees use AI tools to work faster, make better decisions and solve tasks and problems. It doesn’t happen through grand strategies or AI initiatives, but through curiosity, creativity and individual shortcuts. That’s where the potential lies.

But it is also where the risk grows. As AI becomes a natural part of working life, the gap widens between how the technology is used and how it is governed.

Why does Shadow AI happen?

Because AI works. And because it’s accessible.

When internal tools fall short or are blocked, people find their own ways forward. They open a web service, download an app or connect to an open model. What we’re seeing is a clear shift: Bring Your Own AI. Employees bring their own tools into the workplace – often without IT knowing. Not because they want to bypass rules, but because they’re trying to solve their tasks as effectively as they can. It’s not malicious intent. It’s innovation in the wrong context.

No oversight, no governance

Most leadership teams today have little or no visibility into which AI tools are actually being used across the organisation. That makes it impossible to:

• identify valuable initiatives worth supporting
• build the right safeguards around the right data
• ensure compliance with laws and contractual obligations
• develop a coherent AI strategy

Without visibility, you’re navigating in the dark. And the darkness is growing.

Why AI agents mark the next phase of enterprise automation

So far, AI has mainly responded to our questions. The next phase is about AI beginning to act. AI agents are making their way into everyday tools – systems that not only generate text but automate workflows, make decisions and interact with other systems. Independently.

As AI becomes more capable, we also need to strengthen our own ability to:

• define roles and mandates
• set technical and ethical boundaries
• ensure traceability, control and accountability

This isn’t something we can deal with afterwards. We need to start now, before Shadow AI becomes too widespread.

Why technical safeguards are essential for safe AI adoption

Policies are important. Training is essential. But without technical support, these often remain theoretical.

We need solutions that complement the human and organisational effort – technology that can:

• identify and classify AI usage
• prevent data leakage in real time
• log, monitor and alert when something deviates
• offer approved alternatives and safe testing environments

This is not about stopping progress, but about creating structures that make it safe. Technology that supports, not restricts. Technology that enables, without letting go of control.

Why AI agents mark the next phase of enterprise automation

So far, AI has mainly responded to our questions. The next phase is about AI beginning to act. AI agents are making their way into everyday tools – systems that not only generate text but automate workflows, make decisions and interact with other systems. Independently.

As AI becomes more capable, we also need to strengthen our own ability to:

• define roles and mandates
• set technical and ethical boundaries
• ensure traceability, control and accountability

This isn’t something we can deal with afterwards. We need to start now, before Shadow AI becomes too widespread.

Why technical safeguards are essential for safe AI adoption

Policies are important. Training is essential. But without technical support, these often remain theoretical.

We need solutions that complement the human and organisational effort – technology that can:

• identify and classify AI usage
• prevent data leakage in real time
• log, monitor and alert when something deviates
• offer approved alternatives and safe testing environments

This is not about stopping progress, but about creating structures that make it safe. Technology that supports, not restricts. Technology that enables, without letting go of control.

Why managing Shadow AI unlocks sustainable AI innovation

Shadow AI is not an anomaly. It is a signal. A signal of need, of initiative and of what’s coming next.

We see it clearly in behaviour: employees are bringing their own AI tools into their work. A Bring Your Own AI phenomenon that shows the usage cannot be stopped – only guided.

Organisations that combine technology, governance and culture will not only reduce their risks. They will accelerate their AI value – and do so in a way that lasts.

The question is not whether Shadow AI exists in your organisation. The question is: what will you do about it?

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