Week 1 - consolidate the inventory source
Collect one export per browser and team, isolate sensitive populations and remove duplicates before the first scoring pass.
Operational playbook
How to launch an AI browser extension audit
A compact rollout path to frame inventory sources, business validations and remediation deliverables without turning the audit into an endless project.
Recommended 30-day sequence
Week 2 - sort critical extensions first
Start with cookies, nativeMessaging, webRequestBlocking and `<all_urls>`, then identify AI extensions without a clear owner.
Week 3 - decide block, restrict or exception
Validate each case with the business, assign exception expiry dates and attach tolerated uses to named owners.
Week 4 - publish the remediation package
Share the export, the decision matrix and the browser / endpoint / governance action list to move into remediation.
Sources to collect
The best audit reuses data that already exists instead of asking every team to manually rebuild the fleet inventory.
MDM or managed-browser exports
Chrome Enterprise, Microsoft Edge Management, Jamf, Intune or Workspace ONE provide the most reliable starting point.
Security exception register
Track extensions already tolerated, their justification, the business sponsor and the next review date.
Approved application catalog
Comparing the official catalog to the real inventory surfaces shadow AI and governance drift quickly.
Known incidents or alerts
Flag extensions already linked to phishing, session exposure, content capture or exfiltration events.
Questions for business teams
- What exact use case justifies the AI extension, and who owns it on the business side?
- Does the extension read tabs containing customer, HR, finance or M&A data?
- Is there an approved alternative that covers the same need with fewer permissions?
- Which team removes the exception if the extension changes its manifest or data model?
Expected audit outputs
- Versioned extension inventory by browser and entity.
- Block / restrict / exception matrix for the most sensitive permissions.
- Prioritized remediation list for browser, endpoint and governance owners.
- Security committee package: CSV export, risk summary, owner list and re-audit schedule.
Frequent questions
How many extensions do we need to audit to get value?
Value appears from the first export. Even a 20 to 50 extension scope usually surfaces the riskiest cases and forgotten exceptions.
Can the product help during incident response?
Yes, especially to isolate extensions with cookie, history or all-sites access and produce an immediate containment list.
Should Chrome and Edge be audited separately?
Yes when policies and catalogs differ. The same extension can be governed in one browser and unmanaged in the other.