Shadow IT Index: October 2026
AI agents lead October's Shadow IT Index, with Grok Bot first at 27% adoption.
Source: Torii Research, anonymized and aggregated usage data. Published October 8, 2026. Summary figures computed from the 28 apps in this report.
What kinds of apps
Every edition, by theme →Not in this edition, but in September 2026: Browsers and search (14%), AI content and media (4%), Work suites and collaboration (4%).
Share of the 28 apps in this edition, by theme. Each app has one theme, assigned by Torii Research from what the product does; AI marks the AI themes. Select a theme to filter the list below. How themes work.
Top of the index
Ranked by adoption.
All 28 apps
Apps from #25 down share 3% adoption; this edition shows a selection of them.
Productivity
Grok Bot
Productivity Tools · Workflow Assistant · AI Agent
About Grok Bot
Provides AI teammates that use work tools, follow tasks end to end, keep context, and return approved results while working in parallel across apps.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
Productivity
Instinct.com
Workflow Automation · Productivity Tools · AI Agent
About Instinct.com
Manages tasks and personal errands across apps and devices by understanding context, handling follow ups, and arranging calls, texts, rides, and bookings with simple conversation.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
Sales & Marketing
New Gen AI
Ecommerce Platform · Chat Bot · AI Agent
About New Gen AI
An AI commerce platform that connects product catalogs to conversational AI and shopping agents while generating personalized content and enabling agentic checkout experiences.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
Productivity
Willow Voice
AI Writer · Speech to Text · Productivity Tools
About Willow Voice
Enables fast, secure voice dictation across Mac, Windows, and iPhone with context aware AI, automatic editing, and custom dictionaries for writing, messaging, and notes.
Theme: AI notes and voice · AI-native
Customer Success
ContentSquare
Conversion Optimization · Customer Journey · Customer Engagement
About ContentSquare
ContentSquare helps you to understand how and why users are interacting with your app, mobile and website. Optimize your customer journeys and increase your conversion rates.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
Design
Dash.app
Cloud Storage · Assets Management · Document Management
About Dash.app
Manages brand assets in one place, helping teams collect, organize, search, approve, and share creative files with AI tags, custom fields, and simple collaboration.
Theme: Design and video
Operations
Cabify
Travel Ticket Booking · Smart Transportations · Fleet Management and Logistics
About Cabify
Provides safe ride booking, upfront pricing, professional drivers and fleet management tools for urban travel and corporate transport.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Operations
Leah
Procurement and Purchasing · AI Platform · Enterprise Legal Management (ELM)
About Leah
Provides an agentic AI platform that unifies contracting, legal, procurement, and finance workflows to automate end to end work, improve compliance, and reduce risk.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
IT & Security
RCLONE
Cloud Security · Cloud Infrastructure · Cloud Storage
About RCLONE
Manages files across various cloud storage solutions with versatile command-line functionality that ensures data integrity and seamless integration with multiple providers.
Theme: Security and IT
Productivity
Final Draft
Content Creation · Writing Assistance · Document Editor
About Final Draft
A screenwriting tool that automatically formats scripts to industry standards for film, television and theater while supporting outlining, collaboration and production reporting.
Theme: Personal and consumer apps
Human Resource
Metaview.ai
Recruiting Website Design · Engineer Recruiting · AI Agent
About Metaview.ai
Enhances the recruiting process by automating candidate sourcing, outreach, and application review, providing efficiency and precision throughout the hiring journey.
Theme: AI agents · AI-native
Productivity
Drawboard
PDF Readers and Editors · Collaborative Workspaces · PDF Annotation
About Drawboard
Connects Drawboard with cloud, chat, and project tools to centralize PDF markup, collaboration, and workflow across teams and devices.
Theme: Personal productivity
Finance
Unlocker
Property Management · Automated Finance Process · Centralized Payment Platform
About Unlocker
Enables property managers to centralize payments, automate splits and payouts, support rental operations, and connect with business tools while reducing cash-flow gaps and manual follow-ups.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Productivity
Tool Management · Mind Maps
About Pocket
Pocket helps people to save interesting articles, videos and more from the web for later enjoyment
Theme: Personal productivity
Developer Tools
OpenCode
Debugging · IDEs and Text Editors · AI Agent
About OpenCode
Enables coding within any terminal or IDE by providing an open-source AI agent that supports multiple models and simultaneous sessions for enhanced productivity.
Theme: AI coding and building · AI-native
Analytics & BI
Market Data
REST API · Collaborative Spreadsheet · Spreadsheet
About Market Data
Provides real-time and historical U.S. market data for stocks, options, ETFs, mutual funds, and more with quotes, Greeks, IV, fundamentals, and easy access through spreadsheets, CSV, and JSON API.
Theme: Developer and data tools
IT & Security
Apple Business Manager
Mobile Device Management · Device Management
About Apple Business Manager
Manage your organization’s Apple devices, apps, and accounts.
Theme: Security and IT
Productivity
TickTick
Task Management · To-Do list · Product Management
About TickTick
TickTick is a cross-platform to-do list app & task manager helps you to get all things done and make life well organized.
Theme: Personal productivity
IT & Security
Bionic
Application Management · Document Workflow Automation · API Security
About Bionic
The Bionic platform gives the power to properly manage your application security posture.
Theme: Security and IT
Productivity
Cronofy
Data API · Calendar Productivity
About Cronofy
Calendar API connectivity for enterprise applications. Build secure, real-time, two-way calendar integration without compromising your users’ privacy.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Operations
Okular
Supply Chain · Inventory Management · Video Analytics
About Okular
Automates warehouse stock inspection with AI cameras and a web interface to improve inventory accuracy, standardize counts, and keep stock data current.
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Human Resource
Remote
Freelance Marketplace · Freelance Management · Remote Team Management
About Remote
Connecting professionals with remote and freelance jobs. End-to-end solutions for hiring managers and job seekers
Theme: Ops, HR, and finance
Productivity
Thunderbird
Email Client
IT & Security
Virtru
Email Security · Digital Security
About Virtru
Virtru is a simple email tool that gives you the ability to encrypt email, disable forwards, and revoke emails after they have been sent. With Virtru, you can choose when to keep your digital content private and secure for its lifetime, even after it’s shared online. Manage and revoke access to emails, photos, files, and other content at any time, right from within your favorite programs like Gmail and Outlook, on your desktop or mobile device.
Theme: Security and IT
Sales & Marketing
Firehose
Trend Monitoring · Notifications and Alerting · Market Intelligence
About Firehose
Monitors the web for brand mentions, industry news, and competitor updates, then sends timely alerts to help track relevant changes with less manual checking.
Theme: Sales, marketing, and CX
IT & Security
RealVNC
Remote Support · Remote Access · Remote Monitoring
IT & Security
Wireguard
Virtual Private Network (VPN) · Network Security · Secure Communication
About Wireguard
Establishes a fast and secure VPN tunnel using advanced cryptography to provide efficient connectivity across various devices and platforms while simplifying network management.
Theme: Security and IT
IT & Security
VirtualBox
Virtualization Platform
About VirtualBox
An open-source x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product developed by Oracle.
Theme: Developer and data tools
Source: Torii Research, anonymized and aggregated usage data. Published October 8, 2026. Summary figures computed from the 28 apps in this report.
What the data says
Grok Bot (27% adoption), an AI agent from xAI, ranks first by a wide margin, ahead of Instinct.com (13% adoption) and New Gen AI (10% adoption).
Productivity (9) is the largest category, and 5 apps carry the AI Agent tag, including all three leaders.
The median Shadow IT index is 82, and 2 of the 28 apps score 90 or higher. The property payments app Unlocker reaches the maximum of 100.
This edition covers September 2026 usage data.
The data
Show the full data table (28 rows)
| Rank | App | Category | Theme | AI-native | Adoption (%) | Shadow IT index |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grok Bot | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 27 | 87 |
| 2 | Instinct.com | Productivity | AI agents | Yes | 13 | 82 |
| 3 | New Gen AI | Sales & Marketing | AI agents | Yes | 10 | 82 |
| 4 | Willow Voice | Productivity | AI notes and voice | Yes | 10 | 88 |
| 5 | ContentSquare | Customer Success | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 7 | 70 |
| 6 | Dash.app | Design | Design and video | No | 6 | 88 |
| 7 | Cabify | Operations | Personal and consumer apps | No | 5 | 86 |
| 8 | Leah | Operations | AI agents | Yes | 5 | 86 |
| 9 | RCLONE | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 5 | 83 |
| 10 | Final Draft | Productivity | Personal and consumer apps | No | 5 | 86 |
| 11 | Metaview.ai | Human Resource | AI agents | Yes | 5 | 82 |
| 12 | Drawboard | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 5 | 81 |
| 13 | Unlocker | Finance | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 100 |
| 14 | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 73 | |
| 15 | OpenCode | Developer Tools | AI coding and building | Yes | 4 | 84 |
| 16 | Market Data | Analytics & BI | Developer and data tools | No | 4 | 93 |
| 17 | Apple Business Manager | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 4 | 43 |
| 18 | TickTick | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 69 |
| 19 | Bionic | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 4 | 88 |
| 20 | Cronofy | Productivity | Developer and data tools | No | 4 | 64 |
| 21 | Okular | Operations | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 81 |
| 22 | Remote | Human Resource | Ops, HR, and finance | No | 4 | 67 |
| 23 | Thunderbird | Productivity | Personal productivity | No | 4 | 70 |
| 24 | Virtru | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 4 | 68 |
| 25 | Firehose | Sales & Marketing | Sales, marketing, and CX | No | 3 | 86 |
| 26 | RealVNC | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 3 | 72 |
| 27 | Wireguard | IT & Security | Security and IT | No | 3 | 78 |
| 28 | VirtualBox | IT & Security | Developer and data tools | No | 3 | 72 |
Free to quote with attribution to Torii Research and a link to this page. A plain-text version is at shadow-it-index-october-2026.md.
How to read this index
- Adoption
- The percentage of monitored organizations where the app was adopted during that month: a monthly figure, not a running total. The list is ranked on this number where it is available.
- Shadow IT index
- How often the app is left as "discovered" rather than sanctioned through SSO or procurement, normalized to 0 to 100.
- Why it surfaced
- The app's top functional tags. Open an app for its full profile across every edition.
Definitions in the glossary; formulas and limitations on the Methodology page.
