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.
- Medium confidence
- 3 primary sources
- 2024 to 2026
- Last checked
Every study on one scale
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
| 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 ↗ |
| 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 ↗ |
| 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 ↗ Archived copy ↗ Software AG's newsroom is offline; the archived copy is the original press release. |
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).
| 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 ↗ |
| 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 ↗ |
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.
| 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 ↗ |
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-2124–53%How much do workers trust the output of AI tools at work?
- F-2241–44%How often do people check AI output before using it?
- F-2317–45%How often is AI output wrong on real work tasks?
- F-242–12%Which work tasks do people want AI to do on its own, and which do they want to keep?
- F-2642–48%How often do employees put company data into public AI tools?
- F-2721–29%How many organizations have had a security incident or data breach involving AI?
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