Companies are deploying artificial intelligence faster than some oversight systems can track it, while governance reviews are delaying projects, according to surveys that capture opposing pressures on adoption.
The IBM Institute for Business Value, working with Oxford Economics, surveyed 2,000 senior technology executives across 33 geographies and 19 industries from January to April 2026. Seventy-seven percent said AI adoption was outpacing their organizations’ governance capabilities, and 70% said business teams were deploying technology faster than IT could track. Only 11% said they were fully prepared for the expected scale of AI-agent deployment.
OneTrust and Sapio Research surveyed 1,200 senior business decision-makers at organizations with annual revenue of at least $100 million across eight markets in June and July 2026. Ninety-six percent said at least one AI initiative had been slowed or complicated by governance requirements in the prior year. OneTrust also reported that 33% had seen employees use unapproved AI because approved tools or processes were not available quickly enough.
An EY survey of 202 senior AI executives found that 98% reported formal AI-governance policies, while 47% said their organization had bypassed its process for an urgent deployment. Richard Jackson, EY Americas Assurance Chief Technology Officer and EY Global and Americas Assurance AI Leader, said moving quickly and applying appropriate governance “are not mutually exclusive.”
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) AI Risk Management Framework describes governance as a continuing part of managing AI risks, including assigning responsibility, cataloging systems and monitoring them.
A February 2026 KPMG survey of more than 1,750 senior transformation leaders in 20 countries found that 24% had integrated risk management into strategy and the technology lifecycle, while 28% tracked operational or revenue outcomes linked to trusted AI. KPMG said stronger performance outcomes were associated with organizations that embedded governance, trust and accountability in decisions and workflows. It also said AI is often deployed within individual functions and that legacy operating models can limit enterprise-wide impact. The survey did not establish that governance caused stronger results.
In a Nov. 12 opinion column published by Gulf News, Anoop Paudval, the outlet’s Head of Information Security Governance, Risk and Compliance, argued that governance providers could help teams weigh business goals and implementation risks before proceeding. He said governance could become “the blueprint for adoption rather than the barrier to adoption.”
The surveys cover different populations and questions, so their percentages are not directly comparable. They also do not show that governance itself speeds deployment.
