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AI Governance Report 2026: A board benchmark

485 directors, executives, and governance professionals across Australia,
New Zealand, and beyond shared their views on where AI governance stands in 2026.

Individually, almost everyone is already using AI. At board level, almost nobody is governing it. AI is in the room. The governance of AI isn't, yet.

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What is the AI Governance Pulse 2026?

The AI Governance Pulse 2026 is a benchmark report from BoardPro, based on a survey of 485 directors, executives and governance professionals across Australia, New Zealand and beyond. It measures AI use and AI governance at three levels: personal, organisational and board. The report is free to download.

 

 

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Key AI governance statistics from the report

79% use AI at least weekly
44% of boards have no agreed position on AI
2% have a formal governance framework

Chart: 79% use AI weekly, 44% of boards have no agreed AI position, 2% have a formal framework

The governance  report found ...


  • 79% of governance professionals use AI tools at least weekly, and 53% use them daily
  • 44% of boards have no agreed position on AI
  • Only 2% of boards have a formal AI governance framework with clear accountability and regular reporting
  • 41% of organisations have staff using AI informally, with no coordination or oversight
  • 75% of boards receive information on AI activity, risk and regulation only ad hoc, or never
  • 29% of organisations have no AI governance measures in place

 What this report covers 

Benchmarks across three levels of AI governance

This report is organised across three levels — personal use, organisational adoption, and board governance. Knowing where you sit across all three is the starting point for knowing what to do next.

1

The personal adoption of AI for governance work

How governance professionals are already using AI — and why adoption is running ahead of confidence.

2

AI adoption at the organisational level

Where AI is being used, what governance measures are in place, and the significant blind spots most leaders don't yet know they have.

3

The state of AI governance in the boardroom

Benchmarks across board discussion, agreed positions, policy maturity, management reporting, and risk awareness — with sector comparisons.

In this report you’ll also find: 

  • Research data from 485 directors, chairs, CEOs, and governance professionals — not anecdote, but benchmark

  • Sector comparison between not-for-profit and commercial organisations

  • Real quotes from governance leaders on what they're grappling with — candid and unfiltered

  • Three practical steps every board can take in 2026
Board meeting discusion
1

AI Governance Is Now Board Work

AI is no longer an operational issue.
Boards need visibility, policy, and assurance over how AI is being used, including by directors themselves.

2

The Real Opportunity Goes Beyond Summaries

Summarisation is just the starting point.

The real value of AI lies in its ability to:

  • Interrogate complex board material
  • Surface patterns over time
  • Strengthen challenge and decision-making

Used well, AI doesn’t replace judgement.
It sharpens it. 

3

Not All AI Is Equal

There is a critical difference between:

  • Ad hoc use of public AI tools
  • AI embedded within a secure, governance-focused environment

The risk profile is not the same.
And boards need to understand that distinction.

Three actions every board can take in 2026

1. Map your AI footprint

Review which AI tools are already in use — including AI features built into software you've already bought — and make the list visible to the board. You can't govern what hasn't been counted. 

2. Set basic ground rules

A one-page acceptable use policy is a practical starting point. Cover what data may be entered into AI tools, who reviews AI outputs before they're relied on, and who is accountable when something goes wrong. Our AI policy template gives you the structure.

3. Put AI on the board's information agenda

Ask management for regular reporting on AI activity, emerging risks and relevant regulatory guidance. In the survey, 75% of boards received this information only ad hoc, or never. Learn how to become an AI-enabled board.

ai-board-governance

 Real voices from the boardroom

Learn what governance leaders are actually saying about AI in governance.
"We don't know what we don't know, and hence we can't see what is happening. Even if we could see it, I'm not sure we would know what to do anyway."

Director/Trustee/Non-Executive Director

Health/Social services organisation, Australia

"The board has approved AI on the assurance of governance, cultural safety, and clinical oversight. On the ground, ungoverned AI use is already happening, the governance scaffolding is still in draft."

Board Secretary/Governance Professional

Charity/Not-for-profit, New Zealand

"Shadow AI use is something that should have more concern at a Board level. When you work with clients, any information that is fed into unsanctioned AI agents or chatbots is a huge risk."

Board Secretary/Governance Professional

Charity/Not-for-profit, Australia

"Doing more with less in a not-for-profit is critical so the opportunity is productivity and eliminating administrative burden so we can serve our participants with more time."

Board Chair

Charity/Not-for-profit, Australia

Download the free AI Governance Report 2026

Get the full benchmark, including the sector comparison and the three steps in detail.

When your board is ready to act on it, you can run agendas, board packs and minutes with AI assistance in BoardPro, where your data is never used to train third-party models – so your board spends less time on admin and more time on the people and communities it serves.

Try BoardPro free for 30 days, no credit card needed.

Frequently asked questions

What percentage of boards have an AI governance framework?

Only 2%, according to BoardPro's AI Governance Pulse 2026. That counts boards with a formal framework carrying clear accountability and regular reporting. A further 16% have guiding principles only, and 44% have no agreed position on AI at all.

What is shadow AI and why does it matter to boards?

Shadow AI is the use of AI tools by staff or directors without organisational approval, oversight or record. It usually means work information entered into consumer AI services outside any sanctioned tool or policy, creating privacy, confidentiality and accuracy risks that leadership can't see or manage.

How is AI governance different from AI adoption?

AI adoption is the use of AI tools across your organisation. AI governance is the set of policies, accountabilities and reporting practices used to oversee that use. The survey found adoption widespread and governance rare: 79% use AI weekly, but only 2% of boards have a formal framework.

Do not-for-profit and commercial boards differ on AI governance?

Yes, consistently. Commercial organisations report higher weekly AI use, wider adoption across teams, more governance measures in place, and more board discussion in the past year than not-for-profits. The report sets out the full comparison across all four measures.

Who took part in the survey?

485 directors, executives and governance professionals. 46% were from New Zealand and 39% from Australia, 67% were board-level, 57% came from organisations with fewer than 50 staff, and 43% from charities and not-for-profits.

 

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