Study: AI enters workplaces from below – employees choose their own tools
A Helmes Latvia survey reveals that 43% of Latvian employees use self-selected free AI tools at work, while only 7% use company-provided paid tools. Only 8% of Latvian workplaces have clear AI usage rules.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is entering organizations not from top-down decisions but from employees, according to a study by Helmes Latvia. Workers often choose free AI tools on their own to simplify daily tasks, but company oversight remains weak.
Data from the Baltics
The study found that in Latvia, 43% of employees use self-selected free AI tools, while only 7% use company-provided paid ones. Similar trends appear in neighboring countries: in Estonia, 32% use free tools and 6% use paid; in Lithuania, 47% and 6%, respectively.
Only a small fraction of workplaces have clear AI rules: Latvia 8%, Estonia 6%, Lithuania 5%. This means that in most organizations, employees act without a unified approach or security boundaries.
Security risks
Spontaneous use of free AI tools raises data protection risks – employees may input confidential company information, such as client data, contract fragments, or business strategies, without knowing how the data is stored or whether it is used for system training. The author emphasizes that the biggest security risk is humans, as technology evolves faster than organizations' ability to create usage principles and train employees.
Need for clear policy
To mitigate risks, companies should develop clear AI policies, provide training, and invest in paid versions when necessary. However, it is more important to understand which tools employees actually use and make data-driven decisions, rather than adopting technology just for the sake of it.
