--- title: "How many workers use AI in ways that break company policy? (30–44%) | The AI at Work Fact Book" description: "30 to 44 percent of workers have used AI against company policy, and 56 percent without knowing if it was allowed. Employee reports, IT-leader estimates and policy gaps." url: "https://evy.so/facts/ai-use-against-company-policy/" last_updated: "2026-10-16" --- F-25 · What Teams Trust # How many workers use AI in ways that break company policy? About three to four in ten workers have used AI in ways that break company policy: 44 percent of AI-using employees say so themselves, and IT leaders estimate about 30 percent. Missing rules are a big part of it: 56 percent have used AI without knowing whether it was allowed, and only 38 to 44 percent of organizations have a formal AI policy. 30–44% of workers have used AI against company policy (44% self-reported, about 30% by IT leaders' estimate) - Medium confidence - 3 primary sources - 2024 to 2026 - Last checked October 14, 2026 ## Cite this EVY (2026). How many workers use AI in ways that break company policy? The AI at Work Fact Book, F-25. https://evy.so/facts/ai-use-against-company-policy/ (last checked October 14, 2026). CC BY 4.0. Copy citation [Data as JSON](https://evy.so/facts/ai-use-against-company-policy.json) [Markdown](https://evy.so/facts/ai-use-against-company-policy.md) ## How to read it Two of these count workers: the employee self-report (44%) and the IT-leader estimate (about 30%). The third is a stated intention, not a count of violations. Many breaches come from unclear rules: most outside-tool use happens where no explicit rule exists, and bans tend to push use out of sight, since uploading company data is most common where AI is banned (67%). Chapter 3 covers how many people bring their own AI at all. ## Every study on one scale Shaded: 30–44% One figure A range in one study Chart values as text - Scale: % of workers using AI against policy. Shaded range: 30–44%. - KPMG and Melbourne (employees) (2025): 44% ever, 31% sometimes or more - GoTo (IT leaders) (2026): about 30% (leader estimate) - Software AG (stated intention) (2024): 46% would defy a ban **Why medium confidence:** Two independent creators using different methods land in the same band: employees asked directly, and IT leaders estimating for their staff. Self-reports likely understate rule-breaking, and two of the creators sell products that address it. ## Sources Sources for F-25 | Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Trust, attitudes and use of artificial intelligence: A global study 2025 | University of Melbourne and KPMG International | 2025 | 32,352 employed people in 47 countries, November 2024 to January 2025 | Anonymous online survey of employees who use AI; self-reported frequency | 44% have used AI in ways that contravene policies or guidelines (31% sometimes or more often); 56% have used AI without knowing whether it was allowed “almost half admit to using AI in ways that contravene organizational policies” | [mbs.edu ↗](https://mbs.edu/-/media/PDF/Research/Trust_in_AI_Report.pdf) | | The Pulse of Work in 2026: Opportunity, Risk, and Responsibility in an AI-Driven Workplace | GoTo with Workplace Intelligence | 2026 | 1,250 IT decision-makers and 1,250 knowledge workers in 10 countries, November 2025 to January 2026 | Online survey; IT leaders estimated the share of workers who violated AI policy. GoTo sells IT software. | IT leaders estimate around 3 in 10 workers have violated their company's AI policy; 44% say their company has an AI policy “around 3 out of 10 workers have violated their company’s AI policy” | [edge.sitecorecloud.io ↗](https://edge.sitecorecloud.io/gototechnol00e8-mktglobalxm07e7-mktglobalpr9498-b870/media/goto/pdfs/ebook/ebook_pulse-of-work-2026.pdf) | | Half of all employees are Shadow AI users, new study finds | Software AG, survey by TEAM LEWIS | 2024 | 6,000 knowledge workers in the US, UK and Germany, September 2024 | Online panel survey; a hypothetical question | 46% would not give up their personal AI tools even if their organization banned them “46% wouldn’t give it up, even if it were banned” | [newscenter.softwareag.com ↗](https://newscenter.softwareag.com/en/news-stories/press-releases/2024/1022-half-of-all-employees-use-shadow-ai.html) [Archived copy ↗](https://web.archive.org/web/20251105024925/https://newscenter.softwareag.com/en/news-stories/press-releases/2024/1022-half-of-all-employees-use-shadow-ai.html) Software AG's newsroom is offline; the archived copy is the original press release. | Seen from security ## How many organizations see prohibited AI use? Most. 69% of organizations suspect or have evidence that employees use prohibited public generative AI (Gartner, 302 security leaders, 2025), and 60% of leaders lack confidence that they could even identify unapproved AI tools in their environment (Cisco, 8,000 leaders, 2025). How many organizations see prohibited AI use? | Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Gartner Identifies Critical GenAI Blind Spots That CIOs Must Urgently Address | Gartner | 2025 | 302 cybersecurity leaders, March to May 2025 | Survey reported in a press release; counts organizations, not workers. Gartner sells research. | 69% of organizations suspect or have evidence of prohibited public generative AI use “69% of organizations suspect or have evidence that employees are using prohibited public GenAI” | [gartner.com ↗](https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-11-19-gartner-identifies-critical-genai-blind-spots-that-cios-must-urgently-address0) | | 2025 Cisco Cybersecurity Readiness Index | Cisco | 2025 | 8,000 business leaders with security responsibilities in 30 markets, early 2025 | Double-blind survey. Cisco sells security products. | 60% lack confidence in identifying unapproved AI tools; 22% give employees unrestricted access to public AI tools “lack confidence in their ability to identify the use of unapproved AI tools” | [newsroom.cisco.com ↗](https://newsroom.cisco.com/c/dam/r/newsroom/en/us/interactive/cybersecurity-readiness-index/2025/documents/2025_Cisco_Cybersecurity_Readiness_Index.pdf) | Policies ## How many organizations have an AI policy? Fewer than half. 38% of organizations have a formal, comprehensive AI policy, up from 28% a year earlier, 30% have a limited one and 25% none (ISACA, 2026). In GoTo's survey, 44% of IT leaders said their company has an AI policy. How many organizations have an AI policy? | Study | Creator | Year | Sample | Method | Figure | Link | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026 AI Pulse Poll | ISACA | 2026 | More than 3,400 digital trust professionals worldwide | Poll of IT audit, governance, security and privacy professionals | 38% have a formal, comprehensive AI policy; 30% limited; 25% none “only 38 percent of organizations have a formal, comprehensive AI policy” | [isaca.org ↗](https://www.isaca.org/about-us/newsroom/press-releases/2026/ai-use-accelerates-while-governance-and-roi-lag-says-new-isaca-research) | ## Numbers you may have seen These figures circulate widely. Here is what the original source says. - **44% of workers knowingly break AI rules (KPMG).** The 44% is of employees who use AI, counts anyone who did it even rarely, and does not say knowingly. Sometimes or more often is 31%. - **69% of employees use banned AI (Gartner).** It is 69% of organizations whose security leaders suspect or have evidence of any prohibited use. - **70% of employees misuse AI at work (GoTo).** GoTo counts using AI for task types it labels sensitive. Only 22% of those employees knew their employer prohibited it. - **Over 40% of enterprises will have shadow AI incidents (Gartner).** This is a forecast for 2030. ## More from What Teams Trust - [F-21**24–53%**How much do workers trust the output of AI tools at work?](https://evy.so/facts/trust-in-ai-output/) - [F-22**41–44%**How often do people check AI output before using it?](https://evy.so/facts/checking-ai-output/) - [F-23**17–45%**How often is AI output wrong on real work tasks?](https://evy.so/facts/ai-error-rates-at-work/) - [F-24**2–12%**Which work tasks do people want AI to do on its own, and which do they want to keep?](https://evy.so/facts/tasks-workers-want-ai-to-do/) - [F-26**42–48%**How often do employees put company data into public AI tools?](https://evy.so/facts/company-data-in-public-ai/) - [F-27**21–29%**How many organizations have had a security incident or data breach involving AI?](https://evy.so/facts/ai-security-breaches/) [The whole chapter](https://evy.so/facts/what-teams-trust/) · [Chapter poster](https://evy.so/facts/what-teams-trust/sheet/) · [All of The AI at Work Fact Book](https://evy.so/facts/)