Shadow AI: Is Your Business Ready for AI Adoption?

An employee uploads the company's latest financial forecast to a personal AI account and asks it to summarise the figures. But which AI tool did they use? And what happened to the financial information they uploaded?

This is known as shadow AI: the use of AI tools for work outside an organisation's approved systems and processes.

As shadow AI becomes more common, organisations need to understand which tools are being used and manage the risks they can create.

A starting point for AI adoption

Begin by understanding how AI could support your teams and where it may already be in use. The next step is to review how company information is protected and whether the right security measures are in place.

• Discover the needs, priorities and opportunities within your organisation.
• Diagnose the risks and gaps that could affect your plans.

This gives you the information you need to address any risks and move forward with AI securely.

Discover: what would make a difference in your business?

Consider tasks that often take longer than necessary. These might include preparing monthly reports, researching topics, summarising documents, creating first drafts, gathering information before customer meetings or answering repetitive internal queries.

This is the Discover stage of AI adoption. We look at what you want AI to achieve, where it could save time and how your teams may already be using it. We also discuss your priorities and any concerns you have about introducing AI across the business.

The aim is to identify where AI could save time, improve processes or make everyday tasks easier to manage.

Diagnose: is your business ready?

The Diagnose stage looks at how your company information is stored, shared and accessed.

Company information is often spread across folders, SharePoint sites and older files. Some files may still be accessible to people who no longer need them. An AI assistant can search across this information quickly, making sensitive documents much easier to find.

Our AI readiness assessment reviews your Microsoft 365 security, how information is stored and shared, and who can access it. It also identifies access that may need to be reviewed and signs of unapproved AI use.

The findings are brought together in a report, covering:

• Key security and data risks

• Access to company information that may need to be reviewed

• Signs of unapproved AI use, also known as shadow AI

• Security and data issues that could affect AI adoption

• Prioritised recommendations and next steps

This will help you understand what to address first before moving forward with AI adoption.

Finding the opportunity within the risk

Shadow AI creates risks, but it can also reveal where people are looking for a quicker or more efficient way to work.

If employees across the business are using AI to analyse figures, draft customer emails or summarise reports, there may be a clear need for a better solution.

Looking at how often these tasks come up, how much time they take and what information is involved can help you decide where AI could deliver value for your business.

Once you understand how people are using AI, you can decide which tools to approve, what information must not be shared and where clearer guidance is needed.

Take the first step with AI Adoption Services

Grant McGregor's AI Adoption Services give you a clear view of how AI is being used, whether your organisation is ready and what needs attention first.

You receive clear findings, prioritised recommendations and practical next steps based on your organisation and what you want AI to achieve.

Find out how AI is being used across your business and what you need to address before moving forward. Talk to our team about AI adoption.

Call us: 0131 603 7910

Message us: https://www.grantmcgregor.co.uk/contact-us