Many organizations believe they are behind on AI. Even if they have an official strategy with tools on the approved list, they worry that people are not using it.
But there is a reality: AI is already in use, just not where you are looking.
A recent study found that 57% of employees hide their AI usage from their employer and present AI-generated content as their own, whilst another indicates that AI tools are already in active use for at least 25% of tasks in 36% of occupations.
From whispered ChatGPT tabs to unofficial Slack plugins, employees are already applying AI in their day-to-day work. This is shadow AI, and it is far more common than most leaders realise.
The need for AI is beating the permission to use it
Employees want to work smarter. If there is a way to reduce admin, summarize a report, or spark new ideas, they will find it. And if they cannot wait for a sanctioned rollout, they will turn to whatever tool is available.
Shadow AI is often born out of good intentions to save time, improve quality, or make a decision faster. Yet without visibility, there is a risk of inconsistency, bias, or even every organization’s worst nightmare, data breaches.
And if you are sitting comfortably because your organization has already deployed an official AI tool, do not get too smug. Unless you are confident it can match (or at least meaningfully compete with) the capabilities of tools like ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude, your people may still be quietly reaching for something better. Shadow AI is not just a pre-rollout issue; it can thrive even after the ink is dry on your AI strategy.
Signs it is already happening
- Briefing notes or summaries that feel a little too “clean”, or someone sharing a summary of a long meeting, but you are not sure they had the time.
- Slide decks with unfamiliar visual styles or layouts.
- Colleagues “prepping for meetings” with surprising insight and unexpectedly well-prepared talking points, even for unfamiliar topics. Perhaps they are doing this with a different tone of voice or language than they normally would.
The silence is not a lack of adoption; it is a lack of confidence in the response if people speak up.
The risk of ignoring shadow AI
Treating unofficial AI use as a taboo does two things:
- It prevents people from surfacing useful, repeatable practices.
- It pushes AI usage underground, where there is less oversight, guidance, or support.
Rather than eliminating risk, this compounds it.
Creating safe pathways for AI sharing
Organizations can embrace shadow AI without compromising control. Start by acknowledging that informal use is happening and that it is a signal of engagement, not defiance.
Create low-friction pathways for people to share how they are using AI. Think of AI amnesties, where you ask for open sharing of how people are using AI without the risk of retribution, or hackathons to encourage peer learning and sharing. Provide light-touch governance and make it clear what is in-bounds vs. out-of-bounds.
Above all, listen. The front line often knows what’s working well before strategy does because they are the ones who are interacting with customers and clients day in and day out.
Transforming unofficial AI use into a strategic advantage
Shadow AI is a mirror. It shows where innovation wants to happen and where formal processes have not yet caught up. Instead of clamping down, ask what can we learn from it?
With the right cultural framing, shadow AI can move from something to fear to something that fuels your next leap forward.
If you need help shaping your AI strategy, get in touch.
Check out part one of this two-part blog series, where we explore how AI is a cultural shift in disguise, delving into how risk appetite, hierarchy, and psychological safety can influence adoption.
