Organizations Are Spending Almost 40% More Time on AI Risk YoY, According to OneTrust Report
New report reveals the challenges of governance in the AI era and how organizations are shoring up their programs to manage AI risk at scale
NEW YORK, Sept. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- OneTrust, the AI-ready governance platform, today announced the findings from the inaugural 2025 AI-Ready Governance Report, a survey of 1,250 governance executives from North America and Europe that shows organizations are approaching an inflection point in how they manage AI risk.
What were once steady processes for managing privacy, risk, and compliance have become far more complex as organizations adopt AI at scale. Teams are now spending significantly more time managing oversight for systems that touch every part of the business, and the demands of AI are exposing critical gaps in their governance strategies. The 2025 AI-Ready Governance Report reveals how organizations are responding to these increased demands and how "AI-ready" their governance really is.
Key findings from OneTrust's 2025 AI-Ready Governance Report:
- Governance workloads are spiking thanks to AI: Organizations report a 37% jump in time spent managing AI risk this year.
- Rapid AI growth means teams are feeling the growing pains: 73% of respondents say AI has exposed critical gaps in visibility, collaboration, and policy enforcement.
- These gaps are driving a transformation: 82% of leaders say AI risks have forced a modernization of governance.
"AI is changing not just what organizations govern, but how they govern," said Blake Brannon, Chief Innovation Officer at OneTrust. "The speed of AI innovation has exposed a fundamental mismatch. While AI projects move at unprecedented speed, traditional governance processes are operating at yesterday's pace. Legacy GRC tools with manual reviews and lengthy approval cycles are creating innovation bottlenecks. Organizations need governance technology that matches AI's velocity through automated visibility, real-time monitoring, and intelligent enforcement of guardrails. This is not just about compliance; it is about enabling innovation speed while maintaining the strong oversight essential for long-term ROI from AI."
Deeper insights from the data:
- More AI, more problems. 86% of organizations with advanced AI adoption say they notice gaps in visibility, collaboration, and policy enforcement compared to just 58% of organizations in the experimentation phase. Likewise, advanced organizations spend twice as much time managing AI risk as experimenting organizations. For organizations bullish on AI, plan to scale governance accordingly.
- Governance budgets surge to match AI adoption. Nearly all organizations (98%) plan to increase their governance budgets in the next financial year, with an average increase of 24%, showing that many see governance modernization as a strategic imperative essential for successful AI adoption.
Download the full report to learn:
- Where organizations are underestimating the most AI risk
- Governance priorities and budgets for 2026
- The biggest AI governance challenges and what factors are slowing teams down
- How governance teams are contributing to AI ROI
TrustWeek 2025 on Tour
OneTrust is taking TrustWeek on the road with upcoming events in San Francisco on September 30 and Amsterdam on October 21. Hear real-world insights from trusted voices in responsible AI and governance leaders at some of the world's most influential companies. To secure your spot, register today.
About OneTrust
OneTrust is the leading AI-ready governance platform. More than 14,000 customers globally, including over half of the Fortune 500, rely on OneTrust to accelerate innovation while ensuring responsible data use. To learn more, follow OneTrust on LinkedIn or visit www.onetrust.com
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SOURCE OneTrust