Shadow AI
Also called unapproved AI, unsanctioned AI, bring your own AI
AI tools or accounts used for work that the organisation hasn't approved and can't see or control.
Shadow AI is AI use at work that sits outside the organisation's control: a tool nobody approved, or an approved tool opened under a personal account. The name follows shadow IT, the older habit of staff adopting software without asking.
The account matters as much as the tool. Business terms and admin settings belong to a work sign-in. Under a personal one, the person's own plan decides what happens to whatever they paste.
A list of blocked sites doesn't show it, because it says nothing about which account is in use on the sites that remain open. Organisations that want to reduce it start by finding out which services and accounts are in use, and offer an approved route before blocking anything.
For example
A company licenses an AI assistant. An analyst opens the same assistant on her work laptop, signed in with her personal email, and pastes in a sales forecast.
Put it to use
Where you'll meet shadow AI in ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, how to use it there, and the mix-up most people make.
Daily Bytes Plus is in the Android app.