Shadow AI Is Now the Rule, Not the Exception: 55% of UK Workers Use Unapproved Tools

More than half of UK employees — 55% — admit to using AI tools at work that their employer has not approved, according to a new report from cybersecurity firm KnowBe4. One in 10 knowingly share sensitive company data with these unauthorized platforms.

The findings expose a widening gap between how fast workers adopt AI and how slowly organizations are managing it. Only 16% of companies say they are effectively overseeing safe AI use. Meanwhile, 58% of UK cybersecurity decision-makers identify shadow AI as their single biggest risk.

Key Takeaways

• 55% of UK employees use unapproved AI tools at work, with 10% knowingly sharing sensitive company data with unauthorized platforms.
• Only 16% of organizations believe they are effectively managing AI's safe use. 46% have set targets to improve AI agent safety over the next 12 months.
• 27% supplement employer-provided AI tools with their own choices — suggesting companies are failing to provide the tools workers actually need.

The report also found that 19% of organizations already have AI agents taking autonomous action across multiple workflows with limited human oversight, adding urgency to the governance gap.

Lead CISO Javvad Malik noted that while UK businesses are embracing AI for productivity, employees continue to use unapproved tools and regularly face threats like deepfakes and phishing.

TechRadar's analysis points to a two-part fix: clear AI governance policies, paired with proactively giving workers access to the right tools.

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