Workers Turn to Unapproved AI Tools
A 2026 Ricoh survey finds many employees bypass company-approved AI tools because those tools add friction to their work.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Remote Work
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Do you use AI tools at work that your employer hasn't approved?
According to Ricoh's 2026 Workplace Technology Adoption Gap survey, 45 per cent of workers use non-approved AI tools at least monthly to get work done quickly. The findings point to a gap between the technology organizations adopt and what employees actually use.
Why it matters
Non-approved tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini carry open risks to data and privacy, while employer-approved enterprise tools have more controlled security parameters. A McGill University management dean said AI should be managed jointly by IT, HR, and executives.
The Ricoh survey reports that 45 per cent of workers use non-approved AI tools at least monthly, and 53 per cent say approved tools add work and friction. The survey's full methodology and sample size are not described in the source extraction.
The players
Ricoh
Ricoh is a Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company that publishes workplace technology research.
McGill University
McGill University is a public research university in Montreal, Quebec, whose management faculty commented on AI governance.
The details
Workers say they choose unapproved tools mainly for speed, and 81 per cent of decision-makers report their organizations invested in new technology faster than employees could adapt. An Anthropic report cited in the story finds that human attention becomes the bottleneck when employees use AI tools, with 80 per cent of interactive session time spent idle waiting for human input.
Timeline
2026: Ricoh Workplace Technology Adoption Gap survey released
Roadmap
The Anthropic report finds that human attention, rather than model capability, becomes the bottleneck when employees work alongside AI agents. The Ricoh findings extend that observation to everyday workplace choices about which tools employees adopt and why.
Employees weighing whether to use an unapproved AI tool face a tradeoff between speed and data security, and the survey suggests approved tools that add friction are a main reason people bypass them. Teams that want staff to use sanctioned tools may need to reduce the extra steps those tools require.
The takeaway
Organizations that want employees on approved tools may find that reducing friction matters as much as security controls. Bringing IT, HR, and leadership into the same decisions about AI use can help close the gap between what is adopted and what is used.
Further reading
Explore more on how employees are adapting to new tools in our Remote Work coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Canadian HR Reporter.
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Do you use AI tools at work that your employer hasn't approved?
