Comparison
ShadowLock vs Microsoft Purview
Microsoft Purview governs shadow AI well — if you own Microsoft 365 E5 and a team to run it. ShadowLock is a focused shadow AI control across the endpoint, the browser, and the M365 tenant, at a transparent per-device price with no E5 requirement.
The wedge
Purview is an enterprise data-governance platform that added AI features; covering shadow AI with it means stitching together Defender for Cloud Apps, DSPM for AI, and Endpoint DLP on a Microsoft 365 E5 license. ShadowLock is a single, focused shadow AI control you can buy per device without E5 — built to be run by an MSP, not a SOC.
Side by side
| Dimension | ShadowLock | Microsoft Purview |
|---|---|---|
| Licensing requirement | None. Standalone per-device subscription — no Microsoft 365 E5 needed. | DSPM for AI requires Microsoft 365 E5 or E5 Compliance (or a Business Premium add-on). |
| What you deploy | One product: endpoint agent + managed browser extension + M365 Graph integration. | A stack: Defender for Cloud Apps (discovery) + Purview DSPM for AI + Endpoint DLP, configured together. |
| Coverage beyond Microsoft | Catches standalone third-party AI tools, desktop AI apps, and any browser — inside or outside the Microsoft ecosystem. | Strongest inside M365 and integrated SaaS; third-party and desktop AI coverage depends on Defender discovery + endpoint DLP reach. |
| Endpoint enforcement | Clipboard monitored as a Windows service; Shannon entropy + Luhn classification locally; blocks at paste time across every app. | Endpoint DLP enforces on managed endpoints; AI-interaction visibility leans on data flowing through Microsoft services. |
| Data-sharing / training opt-out | Reads each provider's actual “train on my data” setting and holds prompts until it reads off — ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Le Chat, Copilot, Grok — then releases automatically. | No per-provider training-opt-out enforcement; governance is via sensitivity labels and DLP policy. |
| MSP multi-tenancy | Partner → org → device hierarchy, multi-tenant console, PSA/RMM webhooks included. | No native partner multi-tenancy; each client tenant is configured separately. |
| Pricing | Public. $1.00 → $0.80/device/month, billed monthly, no minimum. | Bundled into Microsoft 365 E5 / E5 Compliance licensing; no standalone shadow-AI per-seat price. |
The E5 licensing floor
Purview DSPM for AI — the piece that actually surfaces AI prompts, responses, and interactions — requires Microsoft 365 E5 or E5 Compliance, with a Business Premium add-on path available. For an MSP whose clients sit on Business Premium or Business Standard, turning on Purview-based shadow AI governance means a per-seat licensing jump across the whole tenant, not a line item scoped to the problem.
ShadowLock is priced for exactly that buyer: a standalone per-device subscription at $0.80–$1.00/device/month, no suite upgrade required. You pay for shadow AI control, not for the tier of Microsoft 365 that happens to include it.
One product vs a three-product deployment
Microsoft's own guidance for preventing data leaks to shadow AI is a multi-product architecture: Defender for Cloud Apps discovers the AI apps, Purview DSPM for AI assesses how data is used, and Endpoint DLP enforces. That is powerful in a large enterprise with a security team to operate it — and a lot to stand up and maintain across dozens of MSP-managed tenants.
ShadowLock ships the endpoint, browser, and M365-tenant layers as one product with a single multi-tenant console. There is no cross-product policy stitching, and onboarding a new client tenant is a deployment, not an integration project.
Built for the MSP, not the enterprise SOC
Purview assumes a single tenant operated by an in-house team. ShadowLock assumes a partner managing many tenants: the partner → org → device hierarchy, PSA/RMM webhooks, and per-device billing are the product, not add-ons. If you are governing shadow AI for clients rather than for one company, that difference shows up every day.
Which one fits your situation?
Choose ShadowLock when…
- ✓You are an MSP or lean IT team and do not want to license — or operate — the full Microsoft 365 E5 / Purview stack.
- ✓You need to catch shadow AI outside the Microsoft ecosystem: standalone ChatGPT and Claude, desktop AI apps, and unmanaged browsers.
- ✓You want endpoint clipboard classification that blocks at paste time, not cloud-side visibility that depends on data flowing through Microsoft services.
- ✓You manage many client tenants and need real partner → org → device multi-tenancy with per-device billing.
- ✓You need to prove the "train on my data" setting is off on each AI tool — and gate prompts until it is.
Microsoft Purview still fits if…
- •You are already standardized on Microsoft 365 E5 / E5 Compliance and want shadow AI governance native to that stack.
- •You need full enterprise data governance — sensitivity labels, records management, eDiscovery, Copilot governance — not just shadow AI control.
- •You have a security team to deploy and operate Defender for Cloud Apps, DSPM for AI, and Endpoint DLP together.
Frequently asked questions
Does Microsoft Purview require an E5 license for shadow AI?+
Yes. Purview DSPM for AI — the component that surfaces AI prompts, responses, and interactions — requires Microsoft 365 E5 or E5 Compliance, with a Business Premium add-on path available. ShadowLock needs no E5 license; it is a standalone per-device subscription.
Can ShadowLock and Microsoft Purview run together?+
Yes. ShadowLock integrates with Microsoft 365 via Graph and runs an endpoint agent that does not conflict with Purview. Many teams keep Purview for records management, sensitivity labels, and eDiscovery while using ShadowLock as the focused, endpoint-native shadow AI enforcement layer.
Is ShadowLock cheaper than Microsoft Purview for shadow AI?+
For most MSP-managed clients, yes. Purview-based shadow AI governance is bundled into Microsoft 365 E5 / E5 Compliance, so the real cost is the per-seat suite upgrade. ShadowLock prices publicly at $0.80–$1.00 per device per month with no suite requirement.
What does Microsoft Purview do that ShadowLock does not?+
Purview is a full enterprise data-governance platform — sensitivity labels, records management, eDiscovery, broad DLP, and Copilot governance native to Microsoft 365. ShadowLock is focused on shadow AI detection and AI DLP across the endpoint, browser, and M365 tenant; it is not a records-management or eDiscovery platform.
Compare ShadowLock to other shadow AI tools
Researching alternatives? Honest side-by-side comparisons against every MSP-channel shadow AI tool.