Shadow AI
Unsanctioned AI use is already happening. Visibility comes first.
You cannot govern what you cannot see. We map real AI usage across the organisation, quantify the exposure and build a sanctioned path people will actually use.
What is Shadow AI and why is it a risk?
Shadow AI is the use of AI tools outside the organisation's knowledge or control: public chat assistants, browser extensions, copilots embedded in SaaS, plugins, agents and connectors adopted without review by IT, security, privacy or compliance. The risk is threefold — confidential data leaving the perimeter through prompts and uploads; decisions being made on unverified outputs with no accountability trail; and regulatory obligations attaching to systems no one has inventoried.
The control programme
- 01
Discover
Identify which AI tools are in use, by whom, for what, and with which data — combining technical discovery with structured interviews.
- 02
Quantify
Estimate exposure: data categories at risk, regulated processes touched and business decisions already relying on AI output.
- 03
Define
Publish an acceptable-use policy that is specific enough to follow: allowed tools, allowed data, required review and prohibited uses.
- 04
Enable
Provide a sanctioned alternative — approved models through a controlled gateway — so the safe path is also the convenient one.
- 05
Monitor
Ongoing visibility and periodic review, with monitoring designed under privacy and labour-law constraints.
Frequently asked questions
How common is Shadow AI in large organisations?
In our engagements, organisations consistently discover AI tools in active use that appear in no inventory, no vendor register and no risk assessment — including tools embedded in software already approved for other purposes. The first discovery exercise almost always finds more than the security team expected.
Can monitoring of AI usage be done lawfully?
Yes, when it is designed for it: defined purpose, proportionality, transparency towards employees, minimisation of personal data collected and documented legal basis. We design monitoring together with the privacy and employment-law constraints of each jurisdiction rather than after the fact.
Run a Shadow AI discovery
Find out which AI tools are already in use, with which data, and what exposure that creates.