1 in 10 staff put company data in AI

Nearly nine in ten Irish office workers now use AI for work, and one in ten has put confidential company data into an AI tool their employer never approved.

That's from a Censuswide survey of 1,000 employees in Ireland, published in May. If you have ten people on your team, there's a fair chance it has already happened in your business.

Your team is using AI to get through the day faster, and they haven't told you because nobody asked. On a free AI tool, depending on its settings, what they paste in can be kept and used to train the tool.

Your first instinct might be to ban AI, but you really don't want to do that. A ban drives it underground, and you lose sight of how it's being used.

I'd start with a conversation. Sit the team down and ask what they're using and what for, with no repercussions for anyone who answers. You'll learn which tasks they've handed to AI, how they're using it, and where they want more help.

That's half your organisational AI plan written for you.

Then move everyone onto one business account that the company pays for and controls. On the business plans from the main providers, your data isn't used to train the tool by default, and you decide who has access.

Get the team working in shared projects, so when someone leaves, what they built stays with the business. Then agree what never goes into AI, and name one person to ask when they're not sure.

This week, ask your team what AI they're already using.