Your Bookkeeper Is Using AI On Your Books. Did You Approve It?
Your Marketing Agency Is Running Your Client List Through AI
The meeting ended. The guests dropped off. The team kept talking about costs and relationships. The AI note taker was still in the room, and it emailed the transcript to everyone on that call.
Nobody was hacked. Nobody broke a policy, because there was not one. And there was no undo.
Host Nick Dreyfus, VP of Business Development at i-NETT, argues your company already has an AI program. You did not approve it, you did not budget for it, and you cannot see it. Half of it is your team. The bigger half is everyone outside your building who already has your data.
In this episode:
- The one document almost no company has, and why "everybody knows the rule" falls apart when it matters
- Why shadow AI is a procurement failure, not a discipline problem
- Two risks everyone mashes together: a vendor reusing your work, and your data landing where you cannot see it
- The free version is free because you are the payment
- Why an AI tool wired into your CRM is an authorized skeleton key
- The four questions to ask any vendor touching your data, and what to do when they get vague
- Why Uber burned its 2026 AI budget in four months with nobody misusing anything
- Why we are at 1998, and why committing to one model now is a bet you do not have to make
This episode answers:
- Which of my vendors is running AI on my company's information?
- Do I need employees to sign something naming approved AI tools?
- Can a vendor reuse the work they did for me and sell it to my competitor?
- How does a small company push back on a much larger vendor?
- Who should pay when a vendor wants to use AI on my account?
Start here, and it costs nothing. List every outside party that touches your information. Send one email asking whether they use AI on your account, which tools, what tier, and whether your material trains anything. Ask for it in writing. The answers, including the vague ones, tell you where you stand.
Nick is not an attorney and this is not legal advice. Have your counsel review any policy or vendor document before anyone signs it.
AI readiness assessment: https://i-nett.ai
Managed services and cybersecurity: https://i-nett.com
Community Technology Fund: https://nonprofit.i-nett.com
Book a time with Nick: https://meetings-na2.hubspot.com/ndreyfus
NickD@i-nett.com | (858) 337-2866
Chapters: 00:00 The note taker that stayed in the room
01:40 We deploy AI for a living
03:20 The paperwork almost nobody has
08:30 The part nobody talks about
09:40 Your work walking out the door
12:00 You are the payment
14:30 The skeleton key in your CRM
16:30 The four questions to ask every vendor
20:30 Uber burned a year of budget in four months
22:30 What to do this week for nothing
25:00 The decision that had to happen first
Tags: shadow AI, third party risk, vendor management, AI governance, AI usage policy, data privacy, cybersecurity, managed IT services, MSP, small business, San Diego, intellectual property, data leakage, vendor agreements, The Digital Dilemma, Nick Dreyfus, i-NETT
