The creeping use of shadow AI in the UK is leaving organizations at huge risk, according to Microsoft, prompting calls for a crackdown in the workplace.
According to new research from the tech giant, 71% of UK employees have used unapproved consumer AI tools at work, with 51% doing so every week.
Just under half are using them to draft and respond to workplace communications, with four-in-ten using them to draft materials at work such as reports and presentations.
Notably, nearly one-quarter (22%) of staff admitted to using unauthorized AI tools for finance-related tasks.
There are benefits to using AI, the company insisted. Analysis from Microsoft shows AI tools and assistants are helping save employees around 12 billion hours each year globally.
But these benefits are unlocked with tools and solutions authorized for use in the workplace. Using alternative tools creates serious security risks, which workers don’t appear too concerned about.
Microsoft’s study found only 32% of staff are concerned about the privacy of customer or company data they feed into consumer AI tools. Similarly, only 28% were worried about the security of their organization’s IT systems.
“UK workers are embracing AI like never before, unlocking new levels of productivity and creativity. But enthusiasm alone isn’t enough,” said Darren Hardman, CEO of Microsoft UK & Ireland.
“Businesses must ensure the AI tools in use are built for the workplace, not just the living room.”
AI use is seeping from work into home life
Workers are casual about their AI use, with 41% saying that it’s what they’re used to in their personal life. Meanwhile, 28% said their company doesn’t provide a work-approved option, leaving them no choice but to seek unauthorised tools.
AI use is most common among employees in the IT and telecoms, sales, media and marketing, architecture and engineering, and finance and insurance sectors.
Workers are also getting more enthusiastic, with 57% of employees now describing their feelings as optimistic, excited or confident – up from 34% in January.
Confidence and familiarity are also increasing: in January 2025, 44% of employees agreed they 'didn’t know where to start with AI', but that figure has now fallen to 36%.
More than four-in-ten workers (43%) now say they're clear on why their companies are using AI, up from 24% in January to 43% today, while the number saying that AI is an essential part of their organization’s success strategy has more than doubled to 39% from 18% at the start of the year.
Shadow AI keeps on growing
Microsoft isn't the first company to raise the alarm over shadow AI, with a report earlier this year from Ivanti finding that almost half of office workers are using AI tools that aren't provided by their employer - and nearly a third keeping it a secret.
Similarly, analysis from BCS last year warned that this risks breaching data privacy rules, exposing organizations to potential security vulnerabilities, and falling foul of intellectual property rights legislation.
However, according to Gartner, it's not necessarily all bad. At the Gartner Security and Risk Management Summit, VP research Christine Lee and distinguished VP analyst Leigh McMullen suggested that it could work to organizations favor if workers could be persuaded to come clean, and any really useful applications adopted.
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