Thinking back to last year, it was during the WSJ Leadership Institute’s inaugural Board of Directors Council Summit that Dan Schulman, CEO of Verizon Communications, captured the defining governance challenge now facing boards. As AI accelerates into every corner of enterprise decision-making, he warned that leaders are operating in unfamiliar territory. ‘I’ve never seen technology change as fast as it is right now,’ Schulman told The Wall Street Journal.
That pace has moved AI from an operational experiment to a board-level mandate. In the past year, several US-listed public companies have made the use of AI an explicit expectation rather than an option. Microsoft has embedded generative AI across its internal operations and product development, supported by a formal AI center of excellence designed to guide deployment and oversight. At Shopify, management has told employees that teams must demonstrate why AI cannot be used before requesting additional headcount, a signal that AI is now central to productivity and strategy. Coinbase has described AI as a core leverage point across compliance, engineering and customer support, while Alphabet and Meta have reorganized teams and capital allocation around AI-first roadmaps tied directly to long-term growth.
For boards, these mandates raise fundamental questions about accountability. When AI becomes required rather than optional, directors must oversee not only performance but also risk, ethics and resilience. As one recent Forbes think piece argued: ‘Davos won’t save us from AI, the boardroom might be our last hope.’ The implication is that governance frameworks are struggling to keep up with the technology they are built to supervise.
That tension is already visible in shareholder engagement. Companies including Apple, Netflix, Comcast and Disney have all faced shareholder proposals in the past two proxy seasons focused on the use of AI in creative workforces, data practices and automation. Many of these proposals were supported by union groups concerned about workforce displacement and transparency. While boards at these companies have generally resisted prescriptive constraints, the proposals themselves point to an underlying truth: as AI tools are being actively implemented, they require sustained board oversight around cyber-security, intellectual property and human capital impacts.
Legal and governance leaders are already feeling the shift. According to Diligent Institute’s GC Risk Index: Risk is on the rise poll conducted in partnership with Corporate Board Member, general counsel are using AI in tangible, day-to-day ways. The top three applications from that data are contract review and management, legal research and case analysis and document automation and drafting. Each engages around 40 percent of respondents, underscoring AI’s role in streamlining repetitive and analytical tasks that once consumed significant legal resources.
Yet adoption has not eliminated anxiety. Survey data from governance professionals registered for Governance Intelligence’s workshops in New York and Palo Alto in 2025 shows the biggest concerns about AI in the boardroom center on data security and confidentiality. Respondents cited fears of breaches, exposure of sensitive board materials, loss of privilege and misuse of confidential data. These concerns speak directly to board responsibilities around cyber-security, vendor oversight and information governance.
These findings form part of a wider report Governance Blueprint: The AI-powered boardroom, which brings together insights from senior general counsel navigating this new reality. Their shared experience points to a common conclusion: AI governance cannot be delegated entirely to management or technology teams. It requires fluency, curiosity and active engagement from directors themselves.
That is why many boards are now carving out dedicated time for education and scenario planning. A forthcoming webinar, AI in the boardroom: what governance teams need to know in 2026, will examine the findings of the report and explore what boards should expect as they look toward 2026.
Rather than pointing to a single solution, the discussion reflects a broader shift underway. As AI becomes inseparable from strategy, boards are being asked to evolve just as quickly as the technology they oversee.