Jargon:Shadow AI
1 min read
Say this at the party
“Shadow AI is when people use AI tools at work that their employer hasn't approved, often pasting in company information along the way.”
In plain English
Your company might give you an approved set of tools. But if a free chatbot does the job faster, lots of people just use it anyway.
That's shadow AI. The risk isn't the AI itself. It's that private customer details, code or plans end up in a service the company doesn't control or even know about.
It's a newer version of "shadow IT", the old problem of staff using apps and gadgets the IT team never signed off.
Where it came from
"Shadow IT" has been used for years to describe unapproved tech at work. "Shadow AI" was popularised after ChatGPT arrived in late 2022, as employees rushed to use chatbots. Microsoft and LinkedIn's 2024 Work Trend Index found 78% of AI users were bringing their own AI tools to work.
See it in action
Tom pastes a client's spreadsheet into a free chatbot to tidy up a report before a deadline. It works, but his firm's IT team has no idea that client data has left the building.
What people get wrong
- It isn't usually people being sneaky. Most do it because the approved tools are slower or missing.
- Banning AI rarely fixes it. It tends to push use further out of sight. Giving people good approved tools works better.
Go deeper
- ArticleIBMWhat Is Shadow AI? | IBMA clear definition of shadow AI, the risks, and how companies manage it.
- ArticleWikipediaShadow ITThe older idea shadow AI grew from, with a section on shadow AI itself.
- ArticleMicrosoft and LinkedIn, 2024AI at Work Is Here. Now Comes the Hard PartThe Work Trend Index that found most AI users bring their own tools to work.
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