Diligent: Nearly Half of Asian Organisations Will Prioritise AI by 2026

Nearly Half to Prioritise AI Adoption as a 2026 Strategic Priority with 70% Placing Digital Transformation on the Top of Board Agendas

Amid escalating financial and geopolitical uncertainty, practically half of governance leaders in Asia (48%) are prioritising AI adoption as a prime strategic precedence for 2026 – forward of pursuing progress alternatives (45%), managing cybersecurity dangers (39%) and managing geopolitical dangers (32%). Rather than letting uncertainty maintain them again, Asia boards are betting on innovation as their path ahead.

The APAC Governance Outlook 2026 report, revealed by the Diligent Institute in collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and the Governance Institute of Australia (GIA), surveyed leaders in Asia to seize the highest priorities shaping the area’s boardrooms within the yr forward.

According to the report, 57% of organisations in Asia have already integrated AI into a number of areas of their operations, with 70% citing digital transformation, together with AI dangers and alternatives, as probably the most urgent board agenda subject for 2026, carefully adopted by progress methods (68%). In comparability, solely 9% prioritise shareholder activism and 13% concentrate on M&A alternatives, indicating a stronger emphasis on inner transformation over exterior strikes. However, as AI adoption accelerates, organizations and boards face a vital problem: governance frameworks are struggling to maintain tempo with technological implementation.

“In the period of AI, the best threat isn’t the know-how itself, however the governance hole that it’s creating,” stated Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director of the Diligent Institute. “By creating robust experience and strong oversight, organisations can safe a aggressive benefit and navigate uncertainties within the yr forward with confidence.”

Agentic AI Reveals Deeper Governance Concerns

Agentic AI – methods that act autonomously on behalf of customers – has emerged as a serious governance concern. While 86% of respondents in Asia see activity effectivity and productiveness as the best advantages to agentic AI, 64% cite knowledge high quality and privateness issues as prime dangers, and 61% establish an absence of governance processes to information AI decision-making. Governance professionals more and more recognise agentic AI’s transformative potential however acknowledge vital gaps of their skill to handle these methods safely.

The root trigger is a widening hole in digital experience: practically 7 in 10 (68%) respondents establish digital know-how expertise as a vital board improvement want; nonetheless, solely 31% have mandated director coaching on AI, and simply 28% have recruited administrators with AI experience.

Other key findings from the report embrace:

• One-third (33%) of respondents are creating AI committees or working teams, whereas 37% now require CTO/CIO presence in board conferences for AI discussions.
• When requested how you can optimise governance processes, 72% need extra strategic planning time and 53% search elevated publicity to exterior consultants.

“In as we speak’s AI-driven enterprise panorama, company governance has develop into a vital enterprise crucial, and the stakes have by no means been larger,” stated Terence Quek, CEO of Singapore Institute of Directors. “To navigate this new actuality, boards should prioritise director training and sustained functionality improvement to construct the resilience wanted to thrive amidst rising technological complexity.”

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