- Many employees secretly use AI tools despite company restrictions
- Employees sometimes use their personal devices to hide AI use
- Larger organizations report higher levels of unauthorized AI use
Artificial intelligence is becoming a common part of office work, even when employees believe company policies prohibit its use.
A new study from PagerDuty claims that two-thirds (66%) of office professionals have used AI tools for their work when they thought such tools were unauthorized.
The findings suggest that unauthorized use of AI is no longer isolated, especially as workers become more confident in their own understanding of the technology.
Workers are increasingly hiding the use of AI from employers
The study found that among employees who used AI for professional purposes, many admitted to taking actions contrary to internal company rules.
Unauthorized use was most common in organizations employing at least 1,500 people, where 72% of respondents admitted to using AI when they believed it was prohibited.
In small businesses, this figure remains high, at 60%, indicating that this practice extends to different work environments.
Secrecy often accompanies AI adoption in the workplace, as a third of AI users said they would deliberately avoid disclosing their AI use to managers or supervisors.
About 30% of respondents cited restrictive company policies or concerns about coworker reactions as reasons for keeping their use of AI private, while 29% said uncertainty around company rules contributed to their reluctance to disclose these activities.
Perceptions of inconsistent policy enforcement may also contribute to the use of AI in the workplace.
While 86% say they work in organizations with AI policies, 81% believe leadership operates to different standards.
This sentiment was particularly prevalent in larger organizations, where employees were more likely to believe that leaders were treated differently when it came to AI-related decisions and adherence to policies.
Most workers (72%) believe they understand how to use AI in their work better than the teams managing AI governance.
At billion-dollar companies, this figure rose to 80%, while top executives were more likely than lower-level executives to express similar views.
With such confidence in their own AI judgment, workers will likely circumvent formal restrictions, viewing policy violations as reasonable workarounds.
Use of hidden AI raises concerns about company information
Unauthorized AI activities often extend beyond simple tasks, and 43% of respondents admitted to entering emails or work-related data into public AI systems.
These tools operate outside of internal company environments, raising potential concerns about how workplace information is handled after submission.
Sharing sensitive information is not limited to routine communications, as more than a third of respondents said they have entered customer information into public AI systems.
An additional 31% admitted to uploading financial information, confidential company documents, or internal business strategies to these platforms.
Additional results showed that 44% used AI tools to circumvent limitations of approved work software, while 38% shared AI-assisted work without disclosing it.
Moreover, some workers even access these AI or LLM tools on their personal devices to hide all traces.
More than half of those caught violating AI policies received informal counseling, while 48% faced formal disciplinary action.
This suggests that organizations are still struggling to balance enforcement with the growing reliance of workplaces on AI tools.
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