You should audit your AI tools every quarter. It takes 2 hours. Most companies never do it once.
What Should an AI Tool Audit Cover?
Seven checks:
- 1. Total tool count — list every AI tool the company pays for, including individual subscriptions. You'll find more than you expected.
- 2. Utilization check — for each tool, how many licensed seats vs. active users in the last 30 days? Anything below 50% utilization is waste.
- 3. Duplicate detection — are two or more tools serving the same use case in different departments? Consolidate.
- 4. Cost per active user — total cost / active users. Compare across tools. You'll find your most and least efficient tools.
- 5. Renewal timeline — which tools renew in the next 90 days? These are your negotiation windows.
- 6. Shadow AI scan — check expense reports for AI-related charges not in your approved tool list.
- 7. Policy compliance — does the company have an AI usage policy? Are employees following it?
How Often Should You Run This Audit?
Quarterly minimum. AI tool adoption moves fast — a tool that had 50 users in January might have 8 by April. If you only audit annually, you'll miss 9 months of waste. A Coriven Proof Snapshot automates all 7 checks and delivers results in 5 business days.