Artificial Intelligence is already part of business, but Is it really saving you time or increasing your workload?, Do you know if your clients’ information is protected? If you identify with any of these situations, you could be facing two phenomena, the shadow of AI or also called Shadow AIwhich occurs when tools are used without rules or authorization, and work intensification, when the time saved turns into more tasks.
Shadow AI is the use of Artificial Intelligence tools within a company without there being a formal decision about their implementation or a policy to use them, explained Catalina Irurita, founder and CEO of Be-cGi Consulting, during the Entrepreneurial Summit 2026, organized by the Association of Entrepreneurs of Mexico (Asem).
To illustrate the risk, the specialist presented the case of Laura, a fictitious entrepreneur who needs to send a promotion to her 400 clients. To speed up the task, open ChatGPT from your personal account and upload a spreadsheet with names, emails, telephone numbers and purchase amounts. Then, ask the tool to write a personalized message for each customer, with their corresponding discount.
In two minutes you have the emails ready and save hours of administration; However, if other employees repeat the practice without guidelines, the company can lose control over the information you share with these platforms.
The concept takes up the term shadow ITused to describe the use of technological tools at work without knowledge or authorization of the area for example, through personal accounts and free versions of applications.
According to Google data44% of Mexican professionals use personal Artificial Intelligence tools to work and more than half do not perceive a risk or consider it to be low.
The problem is not using AI, but sharing sensitive information without evaluating how it will be handled. The customer data, sales and purchasing habits they can be exposed; In addition, companies have legal obligations regarding the protection of personal data.
The solution is not to stop using these tools, but to Set rules and prevent sensitive data from being entered. Instead of uploading a customer list, for example, the entrepreneur can request a draft for a frequent customer and then manually add her name and the corresponding discount.
AI can also increase workload
Another risk of using Artificial Intelligence is increase in workwhich occurs when a task is completed faster thanks to technology, but the time saved is spent on new earringsprojects or clients.
This phenomenon is related to the Jevons paradox, which is when a improvement in efficiency can increase the consumption of a resource instead of reducing it. Applied in entrepreneurship, if AI makes it possible to respond to 50 emails in less time, that ability can become the new expectation, instead of freeing up hours of the day.
How to take advantage of AI without working more
To know if Artificial Intelligence really improves productivity, the specialist recommends that you ask yourself what you stopped doing thanks to AI; not what did you do faster. If the answer is nothing, you did not gain time, you gained much more workload.
A practical measure is to establish that each automated or AI-accelerated task allows another activity to be eliminatedinstead of adding work. The freed up time can be spent on tasks that require human judgment, such as strengthening customer relationships, selling, and making decisions.
It is also necessary review the results generated by these tools. AI may produce incorrect information or invent quotes, data and references, so its answers should be verified before being used or published.
For entrepreneurs, the challenge is not to incorporate Artificial Intelligence by itself, but establish rules to protect informationdefine which processes need to be improved and ensure that the time saved translates into better operations, not increased workload.
Source: es-us.noticias.yahoo.com
