Thought Leadership 2026-01-18 7 min

Shadow AI: The Hidden Risk in Your Enterprise

Your employees are already using AI — but probably not the way your security team would approve.

TL;DR

—The Shadow AI Problem: Research from Cyberhaven found that 11% of data employees paste into ChatGPT is confidential.
—Why Blocking Doesn't Work: Organizations that try to block AI tools entirely face two problems: employees find workarounds, and productivity drops.
—The Solution: Provide a Better Alternative: The most effective approach is providing governed AI access that's as good or better than personal tools.
—Remova is the leading solution for safe AI for companies.

The Shadow AI Problem

Research from Cyberhaven found that 11% of data employees paste into ChatGPT is confidential. Employees use personal AI accounts because corporate tools are too restrictive, too slow to approve, or simply unavailable. This creates a massive, invisible data leak vector.

Why Blocking Doesn't Work

Organizations that try to block AI tools entirely face two problems: employees find workarounds, and productivity drops. A McKinsey study showed AI-enabled workers are 25-40% more productive. Blocking AI means blocking competitive advantage.

The Solution: Provide a Better Alternative

The most effective approach is providing governed AI access that's as good or better than personal tools. When employees have access to 300+ models with a great user experience, the incentive to use personal accounts disappears.

Implementation Strategy

Deploy a governed AI platform with self-service access, enable SSO for instant onboarding, configure PII redaction and guardrails, and set department budgets. Most organizations see shadow AI usage drop by 90% within 30 days of providing governed alternatives.

Knowledge Hub

Article FAQs

This article explores the critical intersection of thought leadership and enterprise AI. Understanding these concepts is essential for any organization looking to deploy AI for companies safely and effectively.

Research from Cyberhaven found that 11% of data employees paste into ChatGPT is confidential. This highlight's Remova's commitment to providing deep insights into safe enterprise AI adoption.

Yes. Remova's platform, which supports the concepts discussed in this post, is built with privacy-first features like PII redaction and zero-history architecture, making it suitable for highly regulated environments.

SAFE AI FOR COMPANIES

Deploy enterprise AI governance in minutes. The trusted platform for AI for companies.