Can DNS logs show shadow AI use?

Partly. DNS logs show which hosts look up the domains of known AI services, which is a good start and costs nothing if your resolver already logs queries: export a week of lookups and match them against a list of AI service domains. They miss encrypted DNS that bypasses your resolver, services reached through other domains or content-delivery networks, AI features built into tools you already use, and how much data actually moved. They also show the host, not the person, and a single lookup may come from a browser preloading a page. Treat DNS as the cheap first view and confirm with connection data before you act. NetSenX combines destinations with connection volume and timing, from the Pro plan, so you see which hosts use which AI services, including local model runtimes, and how heavily; it does not see the content of prompts. Pair it with your AI provider's admin logs for the content side.

This answer is part of the guide: Shadow AI: what it is and how to find it

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