Your company’s secrets might already be in the hands of AI, thanks to your own employees. A new survey from TELUS Digital has revealed a shocking truth: more than half of enterprise workers who use generative AI are entering sensitive company data into public AI assistants like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google Gemini.
And it gets worse. Nearly seven in ten employees admit they’re using these AI tools through personal accounts, far beyond the watchful eyes of their company’s security teams. The result is a surge in “shadow AI”, where confidential corporate information is being fed into AI models that companies have no control over.
According to the survey, employees are sharing personal data such as names, emails, and phone numbers. Some are even revealing unreleased product details, prototypes, customer information, and confidential financial data, including revenue figures and budgets. And they know they shouldn’t be—nearly a third admitted their company has strict policies against sharing sensitive data with AI.
There’s no stopping them
While AI is becoming a workplace staple, businesses are struggling to keep up with the risks. Almost half of employees say their company either lacks AI guidelines or they have no idea if any exist. Only a quarter report being required to complete AI safety training, and half don’t even know if they follow AI policies. Making matters worse, many say there are no consequences for breaking the rules.
Bret Kinsella, general manager, Fuel iX at TELUS Digital, said: “Generative AI is proving to be a productivity superpower for hundreds of business tasks. Employees know this. If their company doesn’t provide AI tools, they’ll bring their own, which is problematic. Organisations are blind to the risks of shadow AI, even while they are secretly benefitting from productivity gains. However, providing AI tools is not enough to mitigate these risks. Employees will supplement company-provided AI with more advanced tools that are publicly available.”
Despite the security concerns, workers have no plans to stop using AI. Most say it helps them work faster, makes their jobs easier, and improves their performance. With 84% wanting to continue using AI assistants at work, the trend isn’t slowing down.