AI Under Your Nose

Employees want to use AI at work but without proper compliance training, your team could be in for trouble.

It’s a slow, sunny Tuesday morning. Your usually underperforming employee walks into your office with the report you assigned last week. You’re expecting the usual: something that will need rework, corrections, and follow-up.

But this time? The report is flawless. Perfectly formatted. Packed with executive-level insights. It’s the kind of work you’d expect from a senior leader — not from someone who typically struggles to meet deadlines.

What changed overnight?

The answer: AI.

Artificial Intelligence has proven it can dramatically improve employee performance, generate fast insights, and streamline productivity in ways business leaders 20 years ago couldn’t imagine.

Today, tools like ChatGPT are cheap, accessible, and easy to use — meaning even your least efficient employee can double (or triple) their output. The potential is exciting… and inevitable.

But it comes with a catch.

If your employees are suddenly producing work that’s unusually fast and unusually good, you have to ask: How are they doing it?

Here’s the reality: Employees using AI without company consent or training can unintentionally violate compliance policies — especially in regulated industries like finance, healthcare, or law.

Why? Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT use the data entered into them to improve future responses. If your employees paste confidential, proprietary, or regulated information into these tools, you could face serious compliance breaches, lawsuits, or regulatory penalties.

And banning AI outright doesn’t solve the problem. When organizations take AI off the table, employees often find workarounds — bringing personal devices or using unapproved accounts. They’ll use AI regardless, because it helps them work better and faster.

The answer isn’t less AI — it’s smarter AI.

Leaders need to create clear AI usag

e policies and provide structured AI training so teams know how to use these tools safely, effectively, and in compliance with company guidelines.

When AI is implemented thoughtfully:

• Productivity rises

• Compliance risks drop

• Employees gain the skills they’ll need to thrive in an AI-driven economy

The future is here. AI literacy will soon be a baseline requirement for both employees and employers. Those who get ahead of the curve — with proper training, guardrails, and integration — will outperform and outcompete those who wait.

Tom Foreman

Founder, North Street