The use of “shadow AI” is an increasing security risk within organizations, according to a new report from Netskope.
Shadow AI is a newer variant of shadow IT, in which employees use unauthorized technology without the knowledge of the IT department. This is generally driven by a desire for increased productivity rather than malicious motives, but employees are often unaware of the risks introduced by unauthorized tools.
“Netskope now tracks over 1,550 distinct genAI SaaS apps, up from 317 in February 2025, with organizations using an average of 15 apps (up from 13),” the report says. “Monthly data uploads to these apps increased from 7.7 GB to 8.2 GB. Enterprises are consolidating around purpose-built tools like Google Gemini and Microsoft Copilot, which saw significant adoption gains. ChatGPT, despite remaining the most popular app (used by 84% of organizations), saw its first enterprise usage decline since 2023.
“Other apps, including Anthropic Claude, Perplexity AI, Grammarly, and Gamma, grew, while Grok entered the top 10 most-used apps, though it remains among the most-blocked, with blockage rates declining as organizations adopt granular controls.”
The researchers note that the use of generative AI platforms will grow as these tools increase in sophistication. Organizations and employees need to learn how to deal with these tools safely.
“GenAI platforms, which are foundational infrastructure tools that enable organizations to build custom AI apps and AI agents, represent the fastest-growing category of shadow AI, given their simplicity and flexibility for users,” Netskope says.
“In the three months ended May 2025, users of these platforms increased by 50%. GenAI platforms expedite direct connection of enterprise data stores to AI applications, with the popularity in usage creating new enterprise data security risks that place added importance on data loss prevention (DLP) and continuous monitoring and awareness.”
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Netskope has the story.
