Shadow AI Security & Discovery
Detect and control every AI tool your people use, sanctioned or not
Your team adopted AI faster than anyone approved it. Metomic discovers every AI tool employees use, personal accounts included, classifies what they paste into it, and lets you coach, redact, or block sensitive data before it leaves your business. Metomic discovers every AI tool your people use, classifies what they paste into it, and stops sensitive data before it leaves.
Deploys in minutes · No agents on endpoints · SOC 2 Type II
Metomic sees the AI tool, who is using it, and what they are putting into it, then acts before anything sensitive leaves.
The AI tools your security team can't see
Shadow AI is the unsanctioned use of AI tools at work: personal ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini accounts, browser extensions, and AI features switched on inside SaaS apps your teams already run, all without IT or security's approval.
Every one of those tools can see and act on whatever an employee pastes into it. Most weren't chosen by security, so most aren't watched by it, until a Shadow AI detection tool closes the gap.
None of your existing controls were built to see a personal AI tab open next to a sanctioned app. That's the gap Metomic closes.DLP is built for files and email
That leaves a gap when someone types or pastes sensitive information straight into a chat window.
CASB governs known, sanctioned accounts
A personal ChatGPT tab, or AI functionality just switched on inside a SaaS app, can fall outside that visibility.
A Secure Web Gateway sees the destination, not the content
It can identify that an AI site was reached. Domain-level control doesn't reveal what was actually sent into it.
For the full picture, read Shadow AI: What It Is and How to Control It and the hidden data leak risk of Shadow AI.
None of these tools were built to see what a person pastes into a personal AI account. Metomic was.
That's the whole job: see every AI tool in use, weigh what's going into it, and decide before anything sensitive leaves.
Visibility built for AI tools, not just sanctioned apps
Most of the stack was built before employees could open a chat window and paste in a customer record. Shadow AI needs a different kind of visibility.
| Traditional DLP | CASB | Secure Web Gateway | Metomic Shadow AI | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detect AI tools in use | Limited | Some | Domain-level only | Yes, every browser AI tool |
| Personal AI accounts | No | Limited | Limited | Yes |
| See usage by employee, not just domain | Limited | Some | No | Yes |
| Classify sensitive content before it's pasted | Files & email only | Some | No | Yes, in the browser |
| Coach, redact, or block in real time | Alert only | Alert only | Block only | Allow, coach, redact, or block |
| AI features inside SaaS apps | No | Limited | No | Yes |
| No endpoint agent required | Varies | Varies | Varies | Yes |
| Audit trail for compliance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Most businesses need more than one of these. Read the full comparisons: Metomic vs. Netskope, Metomic vs. Cyera, AI Gateway vs. Secure Web Gateway.
Four steps. One continuous view of every AI tool in use.
Miss any one of these and Shadow AI either stays invisible, or gets a blanket ban nobody follows.
Identify every AI tool employees access
Metomic classifies the domains your browsers reach and tells you which ones are AI tools, sanctioned or not, including the ones that added AI without telling anyone. No endpoint agent, no network changes: visibility arrives on day one.
- Every AI tool your browsers reach, corporate and personal accounts
- AI features switched on inside SaaS apps you already run
- Vendor terms, compliance status, and country of origin, per tool
See who is using each tool, and how
A tool inventory alone can't tell you if it's a risk. Metomic ties every AI tool back to who is using it, how often, and whether the account is corporate or personal, so you can tell sustained, business-critical use from someone who tried a tool once.
- Usage traced to named accounts, not just domains
- Corporate vs. personal accounts, separated automatically
- Frequency and depth of use, per person and per team
Classify what's actually being sent
Metomic reads what is inside each interaction, not just where it's going. Content-aware detection weighs the payload in context: a legitimate HR record looks different from a customer list pasted into a personal account.
- Content-aware detection, not a keyword list
- In-context decisions on what's actually pasted or uploaded
- Every finding logged, source content never stored
Decide, in the moment, without a blanket ban
Every interaction is judged inline: allow it, coach the person in real time, redact the sensitive part, hold it for a person to approve, or block it. "Govern, not block" in practice: most AI use is low-risk and should go through untouched.
- Allow, coach, redact, hold, or block, per interaction
- Approved-AI rules set per tool, team, and data type
- Every decision logged for the record
Want to see what's running on your own network?
Book a demo and watch Metomic surface the AI tools your people are already using, live, on your own traffic.
Live before your next security review
Metomic is hosted and preconfigured. Nothing to stand up, no agents on endpoints, and value before you write a single policy.
Roll out to your team's browsers
Deploy Metomic to the browser where your people already use AI. Hosted and preconfigured, done in minutes, no endpoint agent.
Watch Shadow AI findings arrive on day one
Every AI tool in use and what's being sent into it, before you configure anything. Know what's normal before you decide what's allowed.
Turn on policy at your pace
Enable coaching, redaction, and blocking rules when you're ready. Tighten as you learn, without breaking anyone's workflow.
Source content is inspected in flight. Only findings and metadata are retained, for your audit trail. Metomic is SOC 2 Type II certified (AICPA).
Questions security teams ask about Shadow AI
What is shadow AI?
Shadow AI is the use of AI tools or features at work without the approval or oversight of IT or security. It includes standalone tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini used through personal accounts, and AI features switched on inside SaaS apps your teams already run. For the full picture, see Shadow AI: What It Is and How to Control It.
What is a Shadow AI detection tool?
A Shadow AI detection tool finds AI usage your existing stack can’t see: personal ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini accounts, browser extensions, and AI features buried inside SaaS apps. Metomic detects this in the browser and in the path of your agents, and it goes a step further than most: it also classifies the data being sent into each tool, so you get more than a list of tools, you get a risk-ranked view of what is actually leaving.
How does Metomic detect and control Shadow AI?
Metomic runs in the browser where your people use AI, and in the path of the agents that reach your data through Slack, Google Workspace, and more. It classifies the domains your browsers reach to find every AI tool in use, weighs what is being pasted or sent into each one, and then coaches, redacts, holds for approval, or blocks based on what that content actually contains.
How do you prevent Shadow AI data leakage?
Metomic prevents Shadow AI data leakage by combining discovery with content-aware control. It identifies which AI tools employees use, including personal accounts, detects sensitive data in what they paste or upload into those tools, and coaches, redacts, holds for approval, or blocks the interaction before that data leaves the business.
What is the difference between Shadow AI and AI agent security?
Shadow AI is about unmanaged AI usage by employees: the personal accounts, browser tools, and embedded AI features, and the data they send into them. AI agent security is about autonomous systems, like MCP-connected agents, acting on enterprise data and tools on their own. Metomic addresses both: Shadow AI discovery and control for employee usage, and the MCP Gateway for agent-to-tool traffic.
How does Metomic help with compliance requirements?
Metomic logs what each interaction touched, who triggered it, and how your policy answered, then exports it. When an ISO 27001 finding or a DORA submission has a date attached, that log is the evidence. Metomic weighs content in flight and does not keep it, so the log holds none of your sensitive data.
How do we get started in the first 30 days?
Roll the browser side out to your team and you have Shadow AI visibility the same day: no endpoint agent, no network changes, no API integration with your AI vendors. Then connect the agent side, one Metomic connector inside Claude or ChatGPT replaces the built-in connector list, and your rules apply from the first request.
Is any of our data stored on Metomic?
No. Metomic weighs content in flight and does not store it. In the browser, Metomic reports the classification; the prompt itself stays out of the log. On the agent side, the log records the action, who ran it, and what it touched, never the payload. You keep metadata and findings for the audit trail.
See your Shadow AI exposure in one afternoon
Book a demo and watch Metomic surface every AI tool your people are already using, live.