The number of retail employees using generative AI at work that’s unapproved or unprovided by their employer has soared year on year.
According to new research by Zendesk, the number of retail employees who admit to having used unapproved or “shadow AI” tools at work has shot up by 169% year-on-year to 43%.
The results put retail among the industries using shadow AI tools the most, alongside financial services, travel and hospitality, and manufacturing.
Among those using shadow tools, Zendesk found 52% of the employees used them ‘often’, while 41% said they used them ‘very often’.
A Zendesk spokesperson said: “Agents who have AI copilots are 20% more likely to feel empowered to do their job well. CX Trendsetters like Next are leveraging these AI tools to free up agents’ time to focus on more meaningful work. Consumers are also seeing the impact of these tools in action – 75% are now in favor of agents using AI to help draft responses, an increase of 10 percentage points from last year.
“By building trust and familiarity with AI among agents, customers, and leaders, AI copilots are positioning companies to advance confidently toward autonomous service models. Meanwhile, leaders who are reluctant to adopt AI copilots are compounding an avoidable, yet rampant issue: shadow AI.
“To lessen the risk of agents using external tools (in the absence of internal solutions), companies must prioritise AI copilot integration, empowering agents with the tools they need and expect. Doing so will ensure that agents maintain privacy, security, and service quality, and prepare them for a fully autonomous future.”
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