New capability helps organizations discover AI application use and prevent sensitive data from being shared with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot and other generative AI applications
Sentra, the AI data readiness platform that secures sensitive data at petabyte scale, today announced Shadow AI DLP, a new capability within the Sentra Platform for AI Data Readiness that helps organizations securely adopt AI while preventing sensitive data from being shared with generative AI applications.
Employees are using AI assistants, copilots and browser-based AI tools to draft content, write code, summarize documents and analyze business information. In the process, they may paste or upload sensitive customer records, source code, financial data, regulated information or internal documents into AI tools, often beyond the visibility of traditional security controls.
Sentra Shadow AI DLP gives security and governance teams visibility into AI application usage and enforces data-aware controls before sensitive content leaves the browser. The capability combines Shadow AI Discovery and AI Browser DLP, allowing organizations to understand which AI applications employees are using, assess the risks those applications introduce and prevent sensitive data from being shared with approved or unapproved AI tools.
“As AI becomes embedded in everyday work, organizations need to govern not just which AI applications employees use, but what data they’re sharing with them,” said Yair Cohen, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer at Sentra. “Traditional DLP solutions make decisions based on what they see at the point of enforcement. Shadow AI DLP extends the intelligence of our AI Data Readiness Platform into the browser, applying business context to every policy decision. The result is more accurate detection, fewer false positives and the confidence to adopt AI without putting sensitive data at risk.”
AI Creates a New Data Security Challenge
Gartner predicts that more than 60% of AI projects will fail to meet business service-level agreements without an AI-ready data practice — a warning that has moved from analyst forecast to a board agenda item over the past year. McKinsey research points the same direction: high-performing AI organizations name data, not models, talent or technology, as the single biggest obstacle to scaling AI.
The consequence is a governance layer enterprises are now funding deliberately. Sentra estimates the AI data readiness market at $2.1B in 2026, growing to $15.5B by 2030 — expanding faster than data security posture management and AI governance combined. Employee use of generative AI tools is the most immediate and least controlled surface within it.
Traditional DLP, secure web gateway and CASB tools were built to monitor email, file transfers, network traffic and known SaaS applications. AI interactions happen differently. Employees paste prompts, upload files and interact directly with AI applications in the browser, creating data flows many existing tools were not designed to inspect or govern.
Protecting AI Use Without Slowing Innovation
Organizations face a difficult choice: block AI tools and limit productivity, or allow their use without understanding what sensitive information employees are sharing. Shadow AI DLP eliminates that tradeoff by combining continuous data intelligence with real-time browser enforcement, enabling organizations to embrace AI while protecting sensitive data.
With Sentra Shadow AI DLP, organizations can:
- Discover AI application usage across sanctioned and unsanctioned tools
- Classify content locally in the browser using the same data classes Sentra already applies across cloud, SaaS and on-premises environments
- Apply policy by application and data class, allowing different controls for approved enterprise AI tools and unsanctioned consumer applications
- Block, allow, log, require justification or prompt for verification based on data sensitivity and policy
- Create an audit trail of AI-related data movement, including user, application, data classification and enforcement action
- Prevent sensitive data loss without sending original content to Sentra or routing browser traffic through a new proxy
Built to Complement Existing DLP Investments
Sentra’s strategy is to bring its data intelligence to the broader DLP ecosystem. The company partners with next-generation DLP providers to enrich endpoint enforcement with Sentra’s continuously updated data classifications and business context, enabling more accurate policy decisions and reducing false positives.
Shadow AI DLP complements that strategy by addressing a specific gap: protecting sensitive data shared with browser-based AI applications for organizations that continue to rely on legacy DLP solutions. Rather than replacing existing DLP investments, Shadow AI DLP extends Sentra’s AI Data Readiness Platform to secure AI interactions while the platform’s data intelligence continues to enhance both Sentra’s own protections and partner DLP platforms.
