Do You Know Which AI Tools Your Team Is Using?

A business may not have formally adopted AI, but that doesn't necessarily mean employees aren't using it. Someone might use ChatGPT to help draft an email. Another employee may turn to an AI tool to summarize meeting notes. Someone else might discover a browser extension that makes an everyday task easier. None of this is particularly surprising. When people find something that helps them work more efficiently, they're naturally going to be curious about it. The difficulty comes when nobody has stopped to agree on the boundaries.

When a simple request raises a bigger question

Recently, our team handled a request from an employee who wanted to install a dictation extension to reduce the amount of typing she had to do. The extension appeared legitimate, but it was designed to work with AI chatbots. Rather than approving it immediately, our technician explained that we needed to confirm whether it aligned with the organization's AI policy. During that conversation, the employee shared that she was already using different AI tools and had found ways to move between them to get the functionality she wanted. She was looking for a more convenient way to do her job, but the request raised a question that needed to be answered by the people responsible for the business: was this extension something the organization wanted to allow?

We escalated the request to leadership, who decided not to approve it. The important part of this story isn't the extension itself. It's that a routine software request opened a conversation about AI use and who gets to make those decisions.

The challenge isn't always the technology

Imagine an employee receives a lengthy customer email and pastes it into an AI tool to help draft a response. It works well, so they use it again. Later, they might upload a proposal for a summary or use another tool to analyze a spreadsheet. They're trying to work more efficiently, but depending on what they're sharing, which tools they're using, and how those tools handle information, there may be risks the business hasn't evaluated. Customer information, financial data, internal documents, and business plans deserve appropriate safeguards. The problem isn't simply that AI is being used. It's that the business may not have a clear picture of how it's being used.

You can't manage what you haven't discussed

AI adoption doesn't always look like a traditional technology purchase. A new accounting system or CRM typically involves an organizational decision. An employee can begin using an AI tool during an ordinary workday, sometimes without installing anything at all. By the time leadership begins discussing AI guidelines, employees may already have established their own workflows. That's why an outright ban, on its own, may not answer every question. Employees need to understand which tools are permitted, what information can be shared, and why those boundaries exist. And leadership needs enough visibility to make informed decisions.

Three questions worth asking your team

If you haven't discussed AI use across your business, these questions are a practical place to start.

Which AI tools are employees already using? Ask about the tools they use, including browser extensions and AI features built into existing software.

What information are they sharing? Understand whether customer details, internal documents, financial information, or other sensitive data are being entered into those tools.

Have we clearly defined what's approved? Employees should know which tools they can use, what information must remain within approved systems, and who can authorize something new.

These conversations aren't about discouraging employees from finding better ways to work. They're about making sure the business understands what's happening and can establish appropriate safeguards. An employee asking to install a new tool might seem like a small technical request. Sometimes, it's also an opportunity to ask a much bigger question: do we actually know how AI is being used across our business?

If you're unsure where your organization stands, Adam would be happy to spend 15 minutes discussing your concerns and what might be worth reviewing.

Schedule a 15-minute conversation.