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Employees are using unapproved AI and uploading proprietary data. There’s no use putting your head in the sand on this one.
But this isn’t new, right? We all know that shadow IT is a challenge. But the trick to keeping shadow IT at bay is not to just “clamp it down.” It has always been to help employees find the right apps and devices to use, and create a workable process to vet new additions.
Shadow AI is no different. Which means the start of your shadow AI journey must begin with a single question.
How do I see every single unapproved AI tool in my environment?
The core problem in AI governance is a lack of visibility. You can’t manage what you can’t see. When employees use free-tier and unapproved AI tools, organizations face critical data leakage and compliance risk. Studies show that 68% of employees use free-tier AI tools like ChatGPT with personal accounts. What’s more, 57% admit to inputting sensitive data such as customer personally identifiable information (PII) and internal documents into these ungoverned models.
Unlike other forms of shadow IT, the implications of shadow AI are far greater.
It’s time to move beyond fear-based policies to an actionable path forward. The goal isn’t to block innovation; it’s to gain visibility so you can govern and accelerate securely. You can use a unified AI and SaaS Management solution to achieve complete visibility over every unapproved AI tool, agent, and user sharing company data. This turns a massive security blind spot into a complete, actionable inventory in less than a day.
This immediate visibility is the essential first step in transforming AI risk into a competitive advantage.
The High Cost of the Unknown
The unchecked use of shadow AI is not just a theoretical risk; it has immediate and severe financial and legal consequences.
Breaches involving high levels of shadow AI usage carry an added cost of $670,000 compared to the global average breach cost. This is what makes governance a critical business imperative. When corporate data lives in public AI models, it becomes nearly impossible to prove the chain of custody. Regulations like GDPR and HIPAA carry significant legal penalties to noncompliance.
This problem is compounded by two factors: proliferation and persistence. The number of generative AI domains and apps has exploded. There are over 6,500 GenAI domains and 3,000 apps observed across enterprises, making manual tracking impossible. And this isn’t a temporary issue. Some unsanctioned AI applications have been found running for over 400 days! It shows us that hidden AI usage can create massive, long-term blind spots that traditional security approaches can’t see.
Shadow AI vs. Agentic Identity
Visibility must extend beyond just human use of web-based generative AI tools. You also need to account for Non-Human Identities (NHIs) and scripts—or agentic identities—that may be running autonomously and accessing company data without direct human interaction.
The 3 Steps to 24-Hour AI Discovery
A unified AI & SaaS Management tool instantly solves the visibility gap that fragmented security solutions create. By integrating identity, device, and web access data, you can conduct a complete shadow AI audit in hours, not weeks. Here’s how.
The 3 Steps to 24-Hour AI Discovery
A unified AI & SaaS Management tool solves the visibility gap that fragmented security solutions create. By integrating identity, device, and web access data, you can conduct a complete shadow AI audit in hours, not weeks. Here’s how.
Step 1: Activate Unified Monitoring
It starts with a platform that is integrated across identity, device, and web access.
Because it uses existing data flows from identity and device logs, there is no need for complex agents or network taps. This frictionless approach delivers immediate discovery of all web-based generative AI tools used across all managed devices.
Step 2: Inventory and Categorize Rogue AI
Once monitoring is active, the system automatically inventories every discovered AI tool.
It categorizes each tool by risk score, usage volume, and the specific user identity behind the activity. This transforms a raw list of URLs into an actionable security inventory. You need the critical context—who, what, how often— for effective governance.
Step 3: Pinpoint Data Leakage Hotspots
Finally, the solution tracks web activity.
This identifies which users are accessing high-risk, free-tier tools. This capability sheds light on the blind spot around corporate data exposure. It allows IT teams to immediately triage the highest-risk users and applications. JumpCloud SaaS Management, for example, can automatically warn users when they visit an unapproved domain or block access entirely, offering secure alternatives instead.
From Visibility to Policy: Taking Control
With a complete inventory, you can move from seeing the problem to controlling it. Prescriptive intelligence allows you to take immediate, targeted action.
- Immediate Remediation: Use the platform to send targeted warnings to high-risk users or enforce a soft block on unapproved applications. This approach prioritizes governance over blanket prohibition, allowing you to manage risk without stifling productivity.
- Strategic Approval: The audit will also reveal high-value, low-risk shadow AI tools that employees are using to be more effective. Use this data to formalize their approval and integrate them with enterprise-grade identity and access controls, such as single sign-on (SSO), to secure them properly.
Intelligent IT Starts with Insight
Shadow AI is not a problem to be blocked; it’s just the lack of visibility that needs to be solved.
The fear surrounding AI in the market is palpable, with many vendors pushing to simply “detect and block.” We believe this is a shortsighted approach. AI is a productivity engine, and what is currently shadow AI can be transformed into user-led innovation.
By leveraging a unified AI & SaaS Management platform, IT leaders can turn their biggest security blind spot into a managed asset in under 24 hours. This isn’t just about reducing risk; it’s about building an intelligent, secure IT foundation that enables you to accelerate innovation safely.Transform AI risk into an advantage. Start your AI audit today
