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YOUR EMPLOYEES ARE ALREADY USING AI— AND OPENING YOU UP TO RISK.
Many business leaders mistakenly assume employees aren’ t using AI because it hasn’ t been deployed within the company. But employee behavior tells a different story. According to the 2024 Microsoft & LinkedIn Work Trend Index, 75 % of workers reported using AI at work, with nearly 80 % leveraging personal AI tools.
The issue isn’ t simply about employees using AI; it’ s that many organizations don’ t know how it’ s being used. Unapproved tools can expose sensitive information to security, privacy and compliance risks. And when productivity gains are created through an employee’ s personal AI account, the organization may not retain ownership or control of the processes, prompts or knowledge that generated those gains, meaning the benefit leaves with the employee rather than becoming an organizational asset.
Understanding the distinction is important because the costs, implementation requirements, risks and potential business benefits are very different. Organizations operating in regulated industries may also need to document how agentic AI is making decisions, what controls are in place and where human oversight remains part of the process. The more an AI agent participates in operational workflows, the greater the need for governance, transparency and accountability.
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This makes a strong case for implementing AI through company-managed platforms and policies rather than leaving adoption to chance. A secure AI environment gives organizations greater visibility, control and protection while helping ensure the benefits built are retained by the business.
NOT ALL AI IS THE SAME— AND THE DISTINCTION MATTERS.
AI is a broad term encompassing technologies that solve different problems. Most business leaders associate AI with generative tools such as ChatGPT, where users enter a prompt and receive a result. Agentic AI, on the other hand, trains artificial agents to perform tasks, follow business rules and execute parts of a process similarly to what an employee would do. For example, an agent might be trained to help process email orders by monitoring an inbox, filtering out spam, and identifying and routing legitimate orders.
Many business leaders mistakenly assume employees aren’ t using AI because it hasn’ t been deployed within the company. But employee behavior tells a different story. According to the 2024 Microsoft & LinkedIn Work Trend Index, 75 % of workers reported using AI at work, with nearly 80 % leveraging personal AI tools.
VIEWPOINTS: ISSUE 2 2026 | 03