Practical guide
How to find every AI tool used in a small business.
Start with people, accounts, spend, and evidence—not surveillance. The goal is a decision-ready inventory, not a perfect list assembled in secret.
Published September 20, 2026 · Circuit Studio
Short answer: build a roster, ask employees about work use, compare responses with approved financial and administrator records, resolve disagreements with the people involved, and assign an owner to every tool that remains in use.
1. Define the decision first
Decide whether the inventory will support cost control, account ownership, policy design, data handling, or all 4. A narrow decision prevents the exercise from turning into open-ended monitoring.
2. Ask every participant the same questions
For each tool, record the work purpose, account type, payer, owner, approximate cost, and broad categories of business information used. Include “I do not use AI for work” so non-use is explicit rather than assumed.
3. Add independent evidence carefully
Compare declarations with expense exports, approved workspace administration, and other sources the company is entitled to review. A browser observation can show access to an approved domain; it does not prove productivity, misconduct, or what was entered.
4. Preserve confidence and conflicts
Label what is declared, corroborated, inferred, or unverified. When sources disagree about account ownership, payer, or work use, ask the employee or owner rather than silently choosing one record.
5. Turn the inventory into a short action list
Prioritize personal accounts used for work, unknown owners, unmatched charges, sensitive-data questions, duplicate tools, and missing offboarding. Give each action an owner and a review date.
What not to collect
A basic AI inventory does not require prompts, responses, keystrokes, screenshots, page content, or general browsing history. Collecting more information can increase risk without improving the business decision.