- 76% of employees now use AI at work, up from 55% the previous year, according to McKinsey’s State of AI report
- Security teams that build fast, visible paths to AI adoption become strategic partners in their organizations
- Effective AI governance requires a current inventory, clear policy with reasoning, and fast approval paths
- Organizations with quick official routes see shadow AI usage decline naturally
Security leaders who build fast, visible paths to AI adoption are becoming the most valued partners in their organizations, according to the McKinsey State of AI report. The report reveals 76 percent of employees now use AI in some capacity at work, up from 55 percent the year before.
However, most AI tools like writing assistants and coding copilots were never reviewed by security. The conventional response of restriction triggers a cycle where security blocks an app, employees find a workaround within days, and the pattern repeats.
The approval path simply moves slower than the pace of AI releases. When the official route takes six weeks and a workaround takes six minutes, most employees choose the workaround.
Consequently, security leaders are shifting to governance as an enablement function. Teams that build a reputation for fast, visible AI adoption find themselves in strategy conversations at the planning stage.
The foundation of effective governance is a current inventory of which AI tools are running, who relies on them, and what data each can access. OAuth audits and browser-native monitoring build that picture quickly.
An effective AI acceptable use policy lists approved tools, defines restricted data categories, confirms training opt-out status, and provides a process for requesting new tools with a clear turnaround time. The element most often skipped is the reasoning behind the rules.
Employees who understand why connecting a productivity tool to Google Workspace can expose an entire shared drive carry that judgment into future decisions. Organizations that publish an approved list and keep a fast turnaround time see shadow AI usage decline on its own.
The security teams earning a seat at the strategy table approached governance as a design problem. They started by asking how to make the secure path the one employees want to use.
Adaptive Security’s AI Governance product provides real-time visibility into every AI tool and shadow app across an organization, with automated policies and just-in-time employee coaching. Learn more at adaptivesecurity.com.
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