AI usage control is the practice of governing how people and AI agents in an organization interact with AI tools: which applications they use, which identities they use to access them, what data they share, and what actions they are allowed to take. It differs from application-level controls because it operates at the point of interaction rather than at the network connection.
Ungoverned AI usage has become one of the fastest-growing sources of enterprise data loss
Shadow AI incidents now account for 43% of data breaches, doubling previous levels. Furthermore, 47% of enterprise AI conversations occur through personal accounts that security teams cannot monitor. Blocking AI tools slows the business. Instead, organizations need AI usage control to proactively monitor and govern AI interactions to secure sensitive data.
How Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) puts AI usage under your control
Akamai Workforce Protector applies security directly at the point of interaction, where employees and AI agents actually exchange data. It shows you which AI tools and identities are in use, what data moves into prompts and uploads, and lets you set policies that warn, redact, block, or guide in real time.
Find the AI tools your organization does not know about
See which identities access them, whether corporate or personal, and how often. Replace assumptions about AI adoption with an accurate inventory you can act on.
See inside AI interactions, not just the connection to them
Observe the prompts, responses, uploads, and copy-paste actions that make up AI usage, including desktop applications and agent-driven workflows that never touch a browser session. Understand the full context of every interaction: the application, the identity, the data, and the action taken.
Stop sensitive data before it reaches a model
Deploy without new proxies, traffic rerouting, or changes to how employees work. Policies apply at the point of interaction, so there is no added latency and no infrastructure project to schedule. Extend the security architecture you already run rather than replacing it.
How it works
Security at the point of interaction, where AI usage actually happens
Workforce Protector sits at the point where users, AI applications, and agents exchange data. Every interaction is evaluated against policy in real time: which application, which identity, what data, what action. Enforcement happens before data leaves, not after a log is reviewed.
Products that support AI usage control
Workforce Protector governs how your workforce uses AI. Adjacent Akamai products close the gaps around it: private access to internal systems, segmentation to prevent lateral movement by rogue AI agents, stronger identity assurance, and protection for outbound web traffic.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Blocking treats every use of a tool the same way. AI usage control distinguishes between an approved tool and an unapproved one, a corporate identity and a personal one, and a routine prompt and one containing regulated data. That makes it possible to permit productive AI use while stopping the specific interactions that create risk.
Shadow AI is the use of AI tools that an organization has not approved or does not know about. It is hard to detect because employees reach these tools through ordinary web sessions, personal accounts, browser extensions, and desktop applications. Network and endpoint controls may record the connection without capturing which tool was used, under which identity, or what data was shared.
Yes. AI usage control can identify when someone authenticates to an AI tool with a personal rather than a corporate identity, and apply a different policy accordingly — warning the user, restricting what data can be submitted, or requiring the corporate account instead. This closes the gap where AI activity is invisible to enterprise identity systems.
Both. AI activity increasingly happens outside browser sessions, through desktop applications, automated workflows, and agents that interact with other agents and services without a person present. Governing only browser traffic leaves those channels unmonitored.
No. Akamai Workforce Protector applies controls at the point of interaction, so it does not require new proxies, traffic rerouting, or changes to how employees work. Existing identity, SIEM, and DLP investments stay in place and gain visibility they did not previously have.
Regulators increasingly expect organizations to show how regulated data is handled when AI systems process it. AI usage control produces a record of which AI tools were used, under which identities, and what data was involved, and enforces policy before sensitive data reaches a model where retention and training practices are outside the organization’s control.
Resources
See how your workforce is really using AI
Request a demo of Akamai Workforce Protector and see AI usage control in action.
- See which AI tools and identities are in use across your workforce
- Learn how real-time policies warn, redact, block, or guide users
- Explore controls for personal AI accounts, extensions, and agents