Comparison

ShadowLock vs Kipling Secure

Kipling Secure is a broad AI governance (AIDR) platform for MSPs - built to discover, govern, and monetize AI usage - with shadow AI as one capability in the suite. ShadowLock is purpose-built for shadow AI across three layers: the Windows endpoint, the managed browser, and the Microsoft 365 tenant via Microsoft Graph.

Kipling Secure details last verified · sources

The quick verdict

Kipling Secure markets itself as an "AI Governance Platform" built around "AI Detection & Response" (AIDR) - a broad platform MSPs buy to discover, govern, and monetize AI usage. Shadow AI is one capability inside it. ShadowLock does one job: find and control shadow AI everywhere it shows up, including the M365 tenant Kipling’s public documentation does not describe scanning, priced per managed device with the rate card emailed on request.

Comparing more than these two? See the full Kipling Secure alternatives roundup.

69%

of organizations suspect or have evidence employees use prohibited public GenAIGartner, 2025 ↗

Both tools detect shadow AI on the endpoint. ShadowLock also scans the Microsoft 365 tenant via Graph for AI OAuth grants and Copilot plugins — a cloud-side surface Kipling Secure's public product documentation does not describe covering — and prices per managed device, with the rate card emailed on request rather than quoted through a sales cycle.

More in the State of Shadow AI 2026 report →

Head to head

Side by side

M365 tenant / Copilot OAuth
ShadowLock
Microsoft Graph integration scans for AI OAuth grants (Copilot plugins, third-party add-ins). Alerts on new consent; can block or revoke at the tenant.
Kipling Secure
No Microsoft 365 tenant scanning documented on Kipling Secure's public site as of August 12, 2026; published coverage is endpoint, browser, and network detection. Treat as undocumented rather than confirmed absent.
Pricing
ShadowLock
Per managed device, billed monthly, no minimum. Rate card emailed on request, usually within five minutes.
Kipling Secure
No public price; sold through the channel and quoted by sales. The billing unit is not stated publicly either.
Product focus
ShadowLock
Purpose-built for shadow AI across endpoint, browser, and M365 - one job, done at three layers.
Kipling Secure
Broad AI governance platform - discover, govern, and monetize AI usage. Shadow AI is one capability in a platform purchase.
Prompt-data classification
ShadowLock
Shannon entropy + Luhn validation on every paste, locally on the endpoint, in any app.
Kipling Secure
Inspects prompts and responses to redact or block sensitive data as part of the platform.
Where it blocks
ShadowLock
At paste time on the endpoint, plus NTFS-ACL blocking of desktop AI apps and browser-extension enforcement.
Kipling Secure
Block and redact policy violations after detection, per Kipling Secure’s own product description. Containment actions beyond that are not documented publicly.
Policy authoring
ShadowLock
Toggle-based detection types with a partner → org → device policy cascade.
Kipling Secure
Natural-language policies (e.g. "block PII for all users except HR") - a genuine strength.
MSP delivery
ShadowLock
Direct, multi-tenant, read-only partner API included.
Kipling Secure
MSP-channel, multi-tenant, with a 45-day managed-service launch program; no named PSA/RMM integrations published.

The Microsoft 365 tenant blind spot

An employee consents a third-party "AI meeting assistant" into your Microsoft 365 tenant, or someone installs a Copilot plugin that reads mailbox and SharePoint data. That grant lives in the cloud - it never touches an endpoint or a network egress point. An endpoint/network XDR platform doesn't enumerate it.

ShadowLock's Microsoft Graph integration scans the tenant directly for AI OAuth grants, alerts on new consent, and can block or revoke. As of August 12, 2026, Kipling Secure's public product material does not document Microsoft 365 tenant scanning: the coverage it describes is endpoint, browser, and network detection, and "Copilot" appears as a tool it detects rather than a tenant it scans. We can only speak to what is published, so verify this directly with Kipling if the cloud half of shadow AI matters to your evaluation.

Per-endpoint pricing you can actually model

Kipling Secure publishes no per-seat or per-endpoint price on its public site, and does not state the billing unit either. It pitches MSPs on turning AI governance into recurring revenue, but the path from sign-up to “what this client costs me at renewal” runs through a quote cycle.

ShadowLock prices per managed device, billed monthly, on volume tiers with no minimum. Request the rate card and it lands in your inbox in about five minutes, with no sales call, so procurement can model the renewal the same day. For an MSP repricing AI governance across a book of clients, a number you can get in an afternoon beats a number you have to negotiate.

A focused control vs a platform purchase

Kipling Secure's pitch is breadth: a broad AI governance platform that discovers, governs, and monetizes AI usage, with natural-language policy authoring, which is a genuine strength. If you're standing up a wide AI-governance program on one platform, that breadth is the pitch.

ShadowLock isn't trying to be your XDR. It's the focused shadow AI layer - clipboard classification, desktop-app blocking, browser enforcement, and M365 OAuth scanning - that you can drop in next to whatever EDR/XDR you already run. Many MSPs don't want to rip out their detection stack to govern AI; they want the AI-specific control without the platform migration.

Fit

Which one fits your situation?

Choose ShadowLock when…

  • You need Microsoft 365 tenant visibility for Copilot plugins and AI OAuth grants, which Kipling Secure does not document covering.
  • You want a predictable per-device price you can model at renewal, sent on request instead of quoted through the channel.
  • You want a focused shadow AI control you can run beside your existing EDR/XDR, not a platform you have to migrate onto.
  • You need clipboard-level classification that blocks the paste at the endpoint, in any app, before it reaches an AI tool.
  • You want to prove the "train on my data" setting is off on every AI tool and gate prompts until it is.

Kipling Secure still fits if…

  • You want a broad AI governance platform - discover, govern, and monetize AI usage - rather than a focused shadow AI control.
  • You want natural-language policy authoring and the broader containment Kipling’s profile describes (device isolation, session termination).
  • You want a managed-service launch program (Kipling’s 45-day path) to stand up an AI-governance offering end to end.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does Kipling Secure scan Microsoft 365 for shadow AI?

As of June 2026, no. Kipling Secure’s public material describes AI-usage detection from endpoint, browser, and network telemetry, with no mention of Microsoft 365, Microsoft Graph, or scanning AI OAuth grants and Copilot plugins consented inside your tenant. ShadowLock’s Microsoft Graph integration scans the tenant directly for those grants.

Is Kipling Secure’s pricing public?

No. Kipling Secure publishes no price on its public site and does not state the billing unit. ShadowLock prices per managed device on volume tiers and emails the rate card on request, usually within five minutes, so procurement can budget without a quote cycle.

Is Kipling Secure a shadow AI tool or an XDR platform?

It markets itself as an "AI Governance Platform" built around "AI Detection & Response" (AIDR), designed to discover, govern, and monetize AI usage for MSPs, with shadow AI as one capability; it positions against traditional endpoint/network/app tools rather than calling itself XDR. ShadowLock is purpose-built for shadow AI across the endpoint, browser, and M365 tenant, designed to sit beside whatever detection stack you already run.

Can ShadowLock and Kipling Secure run on the same endpoint?

They can coexist during an evaluation, though running two endpoint agents long-term is rarely the goal. Most MSPs pick one based on scope: a broad AI-native XDR platform, or a focused shadow AI control with M365 tenant coverage.

Sources and verification

Every competitor claim below links to that vendor’s own public documentation. Where a vendor does not publish an answer, we say so rather than presenting silence as proof. Competitor facts on this page were last checked on . Pricing and features change without notice — verify against the vendor before you buy.

  • Kipling Secure ↗ — Kipling Secure sells through the channel and does not publish a per-seat or per-endpoint price on its public site.Not publicly documented

One claim on this page rests on the absence of public documentation rather than on a vendor statement. We have written it as “not publicly documented” for that reason. If you represent one of these vendors and we have it wrong, tell us and we will correct it.

Ready to see it on your own endpoints?