Your AI deployment might be out of policy

Why your AI deployment might be out of policy

Only 20% of organizations fully monitor or govern employee use of shadow AI, according to Netwrix's 2026 Data and Identity Security Report. That leaves 80% with no real visibility into what AI tools their employees are actually running.

Though alarming, that stat is understandable. Shadow AI is, by definition, hard to track. Things like browser extensions, copilots, and coding assistants often get installed without IT ever knowing. And each can move sensitive data to a third-party model in its own way. That means there’s no single system to audit or even an accurate list of AI tools being used.

Governing AI is so hard because you can’t monitor what you don’t even know is there.

Average policy doesn't cover this

While Group Policy and Intune can govern Windows settings and managed apps, AI tools, browser copilots, and third-party plugins are mostly non-Microsoft software. Your existing controls were never built to touch the tools carrying the most risk.

That gap shows up in the numbers. The same report found 76% of organizations don't fully govern or monitor non-human identities in their environments, a category that increasingly includes the AI agents and browser extensions employees add on their own.

You can’t count on employees not to use new AI tools that make their work more efficient, so security teams need to be able to catch shadow AI tools before they’re ever installed. And preferably before your next AI rollout.

5 things teams miss when deploying AI tools

1. Extensions install without anyone reviewing them. Anyone with local admin rights, or sometimes just browser access, can add an AI extension in seconds.

2. Approving one tool doesn't stop others. Rolling out a sanctioned AI assistant doesn't keep people from adding their own. Shadow AI spreads because it’s convenient, the same way shadow IT always has.

3. The same tool ends up configured differently everywhere. Without central enforcement, settings drift from machine to machine.

4. Remote and non-domain devices don't get the policy at all. Contractors, remote hires, and BYOD devices often sit outside the Group Policy boundary. Whatever AI policy exists at headquarters may not exist for them.

5. Nobody knows when a setting changed. If an AI extension's configuration shifts, most teams find out from a support ticket. Centralized policy management gives IT one place to see and control configuration instead of troubleshooting blind.

Meet PolicyPak

PolicyPak's Application Settings Manager and Browser Router extend configuration and access control beyond the capability of standard management tools to cover non-Microsoft apps and browser extensions, including Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

Both are core components of PolicyPak's modular framework, enforced through a Client-Side Extension installed on managed endpoints.

Delivery isn't limited to on-domain machines. It works through Group Policy (GPMC) for AD environments, MDM/UEM export for modern management, and PolicyPak Cloud for non-domain and remote devices. That means the same policy reaches an in-office desktop and a remote contractor's laptop.

AI tooling and browser extensions get governed under the same policy umbrella as everything else, regardless of whether the vendor supports traditional management frameworks.

See where your AI policy actually stands

Before your next AI rollout, check who has access, whether it's consistent, and which browser extensions are already on the fleet. If you can't answer that with confidence, download a PolicyPak free trial and find out.