- Many employees secretly use AI tools despite company restrictions
- Employees sometimes use their personal devices to hide the use of artificial intelligence
- Larger organizations report higher levels of unauthorized AI use
Artificial intelligence is becoming a routine part of office work, even when employees believe company policies prohibit its use.
New research from PagerDuty claims that two-thirds (66%) of office professionals have used AI tools for work, even though they believed these tools were not allowed.
The findings suggest that unauthorized use of artificial intelligence is no longer isolated, especially as workers become more confident in their own understanding of the technology.
Workers are increasingly hiding the use of artificial intelligence from employers
The survey found that among employees who have used AI for work, many admitted to having taken actions that conflict with internal company rules.
Unauthorized use was more common in organizations employing at least 1,500 people, with 72% admitting to using artificial intelligence even though they believed it was prohibited.
In smaller companies, the figure remained significant at 60%, indicating that the practice extends across different workplace environments.
Secrecy often accompanies AI adoption in the workplace, as a third of AI users said they would deliberately avoid disclosing their use of AI to managers or supervisors.
About 30% cited restrictive company policies or concerns about co-workers’ reactions as reasons for keeping their AI use private, while 29% said uncertainty about company rules contributed to their reluctance to disclose these activities.
Perceptions of inconsistent policy enforcement may also contribute to the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace.
While 86% reported working in organizations with AI policies, 81% believed management operates under different standards.
This sentiment was particularly common in larger organizations, where workers were more likely to feel that managers received disparate treatment regarding AI-related decisions and policy compliance.
Most workers (72%) believe they understand how to use AI for their jobs better than the teams managing AI governance.
At billion-dollar companies, this number rose to 80%, with senior managers more likely than lower-level managers to express similar views.
With such confidence in their own AI judgment, workers are likely to bypass formal restrictions and treat policy violations as reasonable solutions.
Covert use of artificial intelligence raises concerns about corporate information
Unauthorized AI activity often extends 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 corporate environments, creating potential concerns about how workplace information is handled after submission.
Sharing of sensitive information was not limited to routine communications, as more than a third of respondents said they had entered customer information into public AI systems.
Another 31% admitted to uploading financial information, confidential company documents or internal business strategies to these platforms.
Additional findings showed that 44% used AI tools to bypass restrictions in approved workplace software, while 38% shared AI-assisted work without disclosure.
Additionally, some workers even access these AI tools or LLMs on their personal devices to hide any traces.
More than half of those caught violating AI policies received informal guidance, while 48% faced formal disciplinary action.
This suggests that organizations are still struggling to balance enforcement with rapidly growing reliance on AI tools in the workplace.
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