As a leader, your agenda is already full.
Forecasting. Costs. Sales. Risk. People.
So, the constant noise around AI can feel like something that can wait.
But here is the reality: We have moved from BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)…
to BYOAI (Bring Your Own AI) And it is happening faster than most organisations realise.
Your employees are already using AI.
Not because you approved it. Not because you implemented it. Because it is easy, accessible, and genuinely useful.
Tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and many others are being used to:
- Draft emails
- Summarise documents
- Generate ideas
- Speed up everyday work
All helpful… until the boundaries are unclear.
Because there is a big difference between:
✔️ Improving an internal email
and
❌ Uploading a confidential document into an external AI tool
We have seen this before.
With BYOD came the same debate: Convenience vs control, Flexibility vs security
Now it is happening again — but with far greater potential impact.
This is the question:
Are you managing BYOAI… or ignoring it?
- Do you know which tools are being used?
- Do you have a whitelist and a blacklist?
- Have you given your team clear guidance?
Or are you relying on good intentions?
You do not need a full AI strategy tomorrow.
But you do need governance.
Because the risk is not future adoption. The risk is what is already happening today.
You may not have introduced AI into your organisation…but your employees already have.
This is a conversation I am increasingly having with organisations.
If it is on your agenda, it is worth addressing sooner rather than later.
#AI #BYOAI #BYOD #Leadership #RiskManagement #DigitalTransformation #Governance