Australian office staff flout AI rules, study finds

PagerDuty has published Australian research showing widespread unauthorised use of artificial intelligence tools by office professionals, with many workers entering sensitive business information into public AI services.

The study surveyed 250 Australian office professionals in non-IT and technology roles at companies with annual revenue of at least USD $500 million. It found 70% had used AI tools or services at work despite believing this was not allowed under company policy.

More than half of those respondents said they had faced formal consequences, such as a warning or disciplinary action, for unauthorised AI use. Another 58% had received informal feedback or guidance, while 27% reported disapproval from co-workers.

The findings also raise concern about what employees are entering into public AI systems. The research found 40% of Australian respondents had entered customer data into public tools, while 28% had input financial information or disclosed confidential company documents or strategies.

A further 37% said they had entered emails or other work-related correspondence into public AI tools outside their employer's internal systems. The figures suggest the spread of consumer AI products into office work is creating risks many employers have yet to contain.

Policy gaps

Workers also expressed little confidence in how AI rules are applied inside their organisations. While 82% said they believed their company had AI policies, 83% said leadership faced different rules, or different enforcement of those rules, than the rest of the business.

That perception appears to be fuelling secrecy. More than a third of Australians who had used AI for work said they would hide that use to avoid scrutiny from managers.

Another finding highlighted the same tension between employee demand and corporate restrictions. Some 45% said they would rather use AI for work without telling anyone than risk being told they could not use it.

The research also suggests many staff believe they are ahead of their employers in practical AI use. Three in four Australian office professionals said they understood how to use AI for their job better than the teams managing AI at their company.

That view was even stronger at larger businesses. Among respondents at billion-dollar enterprises, 80% said they believed they had better workplace AI knowledge than their technology teams.

Personal to work

The report indicates personal use of AI often leads directly to workplace adoption. Among workers globally who had used AI in their job responsibilities, 89% first used an AI tool at work after trying it in their personal life.

In Australia, 48% said they brought AI into work because they had become confident using it personally. Others pointed to growing acceptance of AI in their workplace, formal approval of tools by their organisation, or changes in role and responsibilities.

Regular use also appears to be shifting toward the office. The survey found 60% of Australian respondents used AI multiple times a week for work, compared with 48% who used it that often in their personal lives.

Employees are also finding ways around existing systems. Almost half, 44%, said they had used AI to work around limitations in company-approved tools, while the same share said they had used personal devices for work tasks or projects involving AI.

In addition, 39% said they had turned to AI for work-related advice or help with decision-making, and 34% said they had shared AI-assisted work without disclosing that artificial intelligence had been used.

Skills pressure

The findings point to a broader workforce issue beyond compliance and data handling. Many respondents linked AI restrictions to career development and future job choices.

More than two-thirds, 78%, said their company's AI restrictions or policies were limiting their professional growth or career mobility. A further 72% said they would be likely to look for a new job that offered better AI skills development.

At the same time, 53% said they believed their company was investing adequately in AI skills training and resources. That leaves a notable gap between those who see some investment and those who still feel blocked by policy.

The study covered Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, with 1,250 office professionals surveyed in total. It focused on workers outside IT and technology roles, offering a view of how AI is spreading across mainstream corporate functions rather than specialist technical teams.

"AI is now deeply embedded in how people work, often faster than organisations can adapt their governance and training," said Callum Eade, Vice President- APAC, PagerDuty.