Managed application share
Managed (%) =
applications with an owner and contracttotal applications discovered× 100
Shows how much of what is in use is under control. Track it by team to see where unmanaged buying concentrates.
AI agentSpend intelligence
AI shadow IT discovery agent
An AI shadow IT discovery agent is software that finds applications and subscriptions being used or paid for outside approved procurement, then shows who uses them, what they cost and what risk they carry.
- People stay in control
- Every action is logged
- Start with a small sample
Card and expense transactions
Invoices and subscription records
Identity or sign-in activity
Existing contract and licence lists
AI shadow IT discovery agentPrepared for review
- ✓Inventory of discovered tools
- ✓Unmanaged spend and licence reports
- ✓Security review inputs
- ✓Spend allocation proposals
Handed toIT receives the inventory and approval queue
5inputs it reads
6steps in the walkthrough
1point where a person decides
4outputs it prepares
See it run
Agent Record PersonWatch it work
Live walkthrough
- 1Collect signalsRecord
- 2Identify toolsAgent
- 3Check contractsAgent
- 4Measure useAgent
- 5Prepare reviewAgent
- 6IT decidesPerson
Card spend, invoices, expenses and sign-in records feed the agent.
It names applications and groups them by vendor.
Each tool is matched against existing licences and approved vendors.
Licence activity shows who actually uses what is paid for.
Access scope and risk inputs are assembled for security.
IT, security and procurement choose to approve, replace or retire.
The basics
What is an AI shadow IT discovery agent?
The shadow IT discovery agent looks for software that sits outside approved procurement. It reads card and expense records, invoices, contracts, seat data and, where connected, usage and OAuth data. It lists unapproved applications, flags purchases that skipped intake, compares seats paid with seats active, and maps third-party apps with access to company data.
Read the full explanation
It hands back discovery lists, utilisation reports, rightsizing proposals and draft security review and offboarding inputs. IT decides what to approve, security owns the risk call and tool owners confirm real usage before a licence is removed. Procurement brings tools under contract. The agent revokes no access and cancels nothing, and each finding is logged.
Where it breaks
What this agent does
Each task below is something the agent prepares, checks, drafts or routes, with a person keeping the decision.
It finds applications from spend records and any connected usage or authentication data, and lists unapproved ones.
It flags purchases made outside the process, such as card or expense buys that should have gone through intake.
When a team wants a tool, it looks for unused seats or an existing licence that could cover the need.
It compares seats paid for with seats active, and proposes rightsizing or removal of unused licences for owner review.
It lists third-party apps with access to company data and drafts security inputs and offboarding steps.
The path
Reads, decides, does
- 01Reads
Card and expense records, invoices, vendor and contract records, licence and seat data, and usage or authentication and OAuth data where connected.
- 02Decides
Which applications look unmanaged, which licences appear unused or duplicated, and which findings warrant a security look.
- 03Does
Produces discovery lists, utilisation reports and draft review inputs. It does not revoke access, remove users or cancel subscriptions.
- 04SaaS discovery specialist
Finds unmanaged applications from spend and usage signals.
- 05Licence optimisation specialist
Reviews utilisation, unused seats and rightsizing options.
- 06OAuth app specialist
Lists apps with delegated access to company accounts.
- 07SaaS security reviewer
Collects the facts security needs to assess a tool.
- 08Spend allocation specialist
Assigns SaaS and usage-based costs to teams.
Want to see this flow on your own items?
Book a demoBring a small sample and watch Flo work through it.
Under the hood
Inside the work
| Aspect | By hand | With the agent |
|---|---|---|
| Finding tools | Unapproved apps surface when someone raises an expense or a security alert. | Tools appear from spend and access signals as they show up. |
| Existing licences | Teams buy new seats without knowing the company already owns spare ones. | Existing licences are checked first and offered before any new purchase. |
| Idle seats | Unused licences go unnoticed until renewal. | Inactive seats are listed with last activity for the owner to review. |
| Access risk | Third-party app permissions are rarely reviewed. | Connected apps and their scopes are collected into a reviewable list. |
| Cost attribution | Shared subscriptions land on one cost centre by default. | Spend is proposed against the teams that use the tool. |
| If | Then | Who decides |
|---|---|---|
| A paid tool has no contract or vendor record | Flags it as unmanaged with the evidence of spend | Procurement decides how to bring it in |
| A new request matches an existing licence | Points the requester to the licences already held | Tool owner assigns the seat |
| Seats show no recent activity | Lists them as candidates for reduction | Tool owner confirms before change |
| A connected app has broad access to company data | Raises it in the security review list | Security decides on the risk |
| Usage-based charges rise without a matching change in use | Highlights the difference for checking | Finance and owner investigate |
| A person leaves the company | Lists the tools they held for removal or reassignment | IT carries out the offboarding |
Reads
- Card and expense transactions
- Invoices and subscription records
- Identity or sign-in activity
- Existing contract and licence lists
- Connected app permission data
Produces
- Inventory of discovered tools
- Unmanaged spend and licence reports
- Security review inputs
- Spend allocation proposals
Hands over to
- IT receives the inventory and approval queue
- Security receives apps with broad access
- Procurement receives tools to contract or retire
Employee buys a tool on a personal card
The agent can only see it if expenses or sign-in data reveal it. IT and procurement decide how to bring it in and reimburse.
Free tier used for company data
No spend shows, so the agent depends on access or sign-in signals. Security decides whether the data sensitivity requires a paid, contracted plan.
Tool is critical to one team
The agent flags it as unmanaged but notes the dependence. Procurement and the owner plan a managed move without interrupting work.
Shared account for many users
Usage cannot be traced to individuals, so the agent reports that limit. The owner decides whether to move to named seats.
- IT administrator
- Approves or blocks tools, manages access and carries out offboarding.
- Security analyst
- Reviews access scopes and data exposure, then rules on risk.
- Tool owner
- Confirms real usage and decides whether seats can be reduced.
- Procurement manager
- Brings discovered tools under contract or ends them.
People and control
What stays with people
- ✓IT decides what to approveSome shadow tools are fine once reviewed, others are not.
- ✓Security owns the risk callAccess scopes and data exposure are assessed and accepted by people.
- ✓Tool owners confirm real usageA seat that looks idle may belong to an occasional user.
- ✓Procurement brings tools under contractNegotiation and approval follow the usual route.
- ✓Employees are told whyRetiring a tool needs communication, not just a switch.
Signs you would benefit
- •Surprise subscriptions appearFinance finds software charges nobody can explain.
- •Seats are bought twiceTeams pay for licences the company already holds.
- •Leavers keep accessOffboarding does not cover tools IT never knew about.
- •Security cannot list the apps in useReviews cover only the tools that were formally approved.
Not sure where AI shadow IT discovery agent fits in your process?
Talk it through with the team. We will map it to your steps and show where a person stays in control.
- Works from a sample of your real items
- Shows what Flo handles and what it hands over
- No commitment to start
Rollout
Rolling it out
- 1See first
Run discovery in report-only mode so IT sees what exists before anything changes.
- 2Check licences
Add the existing-licence check to purchase requests so duplicate buying stops first.
- 3Add usage reviews
Start licence reviews on the largest tools and let owners confirm reductions.
- 4Extend to security
Bring in app access reviews and offboarding lists once the inventory is trusted.
The numbersMetric 1 Metric 2 Metric 3
How to measure it
Set your own baseline first. We do not publish benchmarks without a source you can check.Licence utilisation
Utilisation (%) =
active seatspurchased seats× 100
Indicates how well seats match use. Judge it over a representative period, not a single week.
Time to triage
Triage time = decision date − discovery dateMeasures how long a discovered tool sits before someone decides on it. Long gaps mean risk stays open.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers to what people ask most about AI shadow IT discovery agent.
Book a demoWhat is shadow IT discovery?
It is the process of finding software and services used inside an organisation without formal approval or oversight. An AI agent can compare spend, usage and access data to surface them, and people decide what happens next.
What data sources does it use?
It works from what is available to it: expense and invoice records, vendor and contract data, and usage, authentication or OAuth data where those sources are connected. Findings note which source they came from.
Does it remove access or cancel subscriptions?
No. It reports and recommends. Removing users, revoking an OAuth grant or cancelling a plan is done by IT or the tool owner.
How does it help avoid buying duplicate licences?
When a request comes in, it checks for existing licences, spare seats or an equivalent tool already under contract. The requester and approver see this before a new purchase goes ahead.
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See all 324 AI agent pages →Try AI shadow IT discovery agent on your own data
Bring a small sample of real items. We will show what Flo handles on its own and where it hands over to your team.
- People approve, sign and pay
- Every action is logged
- Start with a small sample
