Acora analysed four years of UK Google search data across 50 terms that suggest unsanctioned use of AI at work, such as asking whether ChatGPT is safe for confidential information or how to get round a block. Searches about hiding AI use, such as how to delete ChatGPT history, rose 489% in two years, from 1,861 to 10,958, almost six times the earlier level.
Across all 50 terms there were 161,934 UK searches in the past year, up 48% on two years earlier and 2.6 times the volume in ChatGPT's first year. Three behaviours (covering tracks, data-safety worries and getting round blocks) together account for more than 100,000 searches, over three times the level two years ago.
Individual terms moved sharply. "How to delete ChatGPT history" drew 4,052 searches in the past year, five times the level two years ago. "Is ChatGPT safe for confidential information" went from 144 to 1,650 searches, up 1,046%, and "Is Copilot safe to use at work" rose 159% in a year.
Acora sets the figures against FTI Consulting's finding that 60% of businesses have slowed, paused or pulled back a planned AI deployment over reputational, regulatory or trust concerns. Its reading is that employees are moving faster than their employers. The firm cautions that search volumes reflect intent rather than confirmed behaviour and cannot show whether a searcher is an employee using AI at work, so the data is an indication only.
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