Most organizations did not decide when AI would enter their environment. It simply showed up.
Employees found tools that helped them move faster. They started pasting in documents, asking for summaries, drafting responses, and reducing administrative work. In many cases, this happened long before IT had the opportunity to evaluate or approve what was being used.
That is not a failure of control. It is what happens when useful technology spreads quickly.
The real risk is not that people are using AI. It is that they are using it in ways the organization cannot see, govern, or protect.
This is the reality many Canadian IT leaders face today. AI is already inside the business, but not in a way that can be measured, secured, or aligned to corporate intent. What looks like progress on the surface can quietly introduce exposure underneath.
When AI Moves Faster than Policy
One of the clearest takeaways from Compugen’s recent AI webinar was that blocking AI rarely works.
When approved tools are unavailable or slow to arrive, people look elsewhere. Consumer AI tools are easy to access and quick to use, but they are not built for enterprise oversight. They sit outside corporate security models, data retention rules, and audit controls.
Once that happens, IT loses visibility. Security teams lose context. Governance becomes reactive. Sensitive information may be copied or stored in places no one is tracking, and the organization may not realize there is a problem until something goes wrong.
This is what makes unsanctioned AI risky. Not because the tools themselves are dangerous, but because they operate outside the systems designed to manage risk.
Discoverability Changes the Equation
AI does more than process data. It changes how data is found.
Information that was technically accessible but rarely surfaced can suddenly appear through simple questions. Documents that relied on being hard to locate become easy to retrieve. Context that once lived in people’s heads shows up in summaries and responses.
This came up repeatedly in the webinar. There may be no breach and no malicious intent, yet leaders can still feel uneasy about what becomes visible.
This is not an AI problem. It is a governance problem that AI exposes.
Access models built for systems that required training and navigation are not suited for tools that answer questions directly. What was once protected by complexity is no longer protected at all.
Why Shutting Things Down Falls Short
Some organizations respond by trying to shut everything down. They block public tools and tighten restrictions, hoping the issue fades.
It rarely does.
People who see value in AI will continue to look for it. When they cannot use approved platforms, they turn to personal accounts and consumer tools. The risk does not disappear. It just moves out of sight.
The goal is not to eliminate AI use. It is to bring it into an environment where it can be governed, observed, and improved.
That means offering sanctioned tools that are secure and monitored, and being clear about what is acceptable, why boundaries exist, and how data should be handled. When people understand the rules and have safe options available, most will follow them.
Data Discipline is the Real Control Point
Another important theme from the webinar is that data discipline is what truly governs AI.
AI does not know which data is sensitive, outdated, or inappropriate. It works with whatever it is given.
Organizations struggling with unsanctioned AI often have deeper issues with data ownership and access. If no one can clearly say who owns a data set, who maintains it, and who should see it, AI will expose those gaps quickly.
Teams that get ahead of this focus on foundations first. They identify trusted data sets, clarify ownership, review access with discoverability in mind, and then allow AI to operate within those boundaries.
This does not remove risk, but it makes it visible and manageable.
Keeping People in the Loop
AI can produce confident answers based on incomplete or flawed information. Without review, those answers can quietly influence decisions and communications.
When AI is used through approved platforms, organizations can design for oversight. When it operates outside the organization’s view, that is not possible. That is why unsanctioned AI is not just a data risk. It is a decision risk.
Getting Ahead of the Issue
The path forward is not complex, but it does require discipline.
It starts with accepting that AI is already in use. From there, organizations need secure, visible alternatives, clearer data access models, and practical guidance that people can actually follow. Most importantly, IT and the business need to stay in conversation.
At Compugen, we see this pattern across Canadian organizations every day. The teams that get ahead of unsanctioned AI are not the ones with the strictest rules. They are the ones with the clearest foundations and the most open dialogue.
AI will keep moving. The question is whether it moves within your line of sight or outside it.
Want to bring AI back into view?
If you are concerned about unsanctioned AI or want to understand where your real exposure lies, Compugen’s Data and AI experts can help you assess your current state and define a path forward that balances innovation with control.
Visit our Data + AI page to see how Compugen helps Canadian organizations move from uncertainty to confident, governed progress.
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