What is shadow AI?
Shadow AI is the use of AI tools at work without the knowledge or approval of the people responsible for IT, security or data protection. It covers employees using personal chatbot accounts for work tasks, browser extensions with built-in AI, AI features switched on inside existing software, developers running local models or coding assistants, and AI agents connected to company systems. It is usually well-meant: people want to work faster. The risks are concrete. Company or customer data goes to providers you have no contract with, under terms that may allow them to keep or train on it. Personal data may be processed without a legal basis. Outputs enter documents and code without review. And nobody can answer a client or an auditor who asks which AI services touched their data. The answer is not a ban but visibility, an approved alternative and a clear policy. From the Pro plan, NetSenX shows which hosts connect to which AI services and how much data goes there, not what was typed.
This answer is part of the guide: Shadow AI: what it is and how to find it