Arctera State of AI Governance 2026 Finds More Than Three-Quarters (78%) of Organizations Using AI Expect Communications Risk to Rise, But Fewer Than One in Five Can Prove AI Governance Readiness

Data commissioned from Hanover Research shows regulated organizations are moving from policy to proof as AI governance demands stronger logging, retention, oversight and reconstruction controls

SAN RAMON, Calif., July 21, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arctera, a business unit of Cloud Software Group, today announced the release of its State of AI Governance 2026 report, based on a survey commissioned by Hanover Research, which aimed to benchmark how regulated organizations are governing and defending AI-assisted communications and decisions.

AI-driven communications are becoming a bigger compliance risk, with more than three-quarters (78%) of respondents at organizations using AI tools expecting risk to increase over the next 12 to 24 months. But while more than half (55%) have the core AI policies, training and review steps in place, fewer than one in five (19%) have the logging, retention, detection and scoring controls needed to prove what happened. Without that evidence layer in place, organizations cannot confidently demonstrate what AI produced, who reviewed it, where it went and whether the record was kept. This gap underscores a growing challenge for regulated organizations: AI governance must move beyond policy creation and into evidence-based accountability.

“Policies, training and human review remain essential, but they are no longer enough on their own. As AI becomes an integral part of day-to-day work, organizations operating in regulated industries must be able to reconstruct the evidence behind AI-assisted communications and decisions,” said Soniya Bopache, SVP & GM at Arctera. “Moving from policy to proof means organizations must treat evidence as part of the AI workflow itself, not something to be recreated after the fact. This is the foundation of defensible AI governance.”

The report found that AI is already becoming a core part of regulated business activity. Nearly half (45%) of organizations say AI is core or extensively used in regulated workflows, while almost two-thirds (60%) say compliance is primarily accountable for AI governance. This creates new pressure on compliance leaders, legal teams, CIOs, and risk executives to ensure AI-assisted work is properly governed and defendable.

Additional key findings from the report include:

Evidence controls are raising the bar for AI audit readiness - While 71% of organizations using AI say they are very or extremely prepared to produce a defensible audit trail, the report indicates confidence alone is not enough. True readiness depends on prompt/output monitoring, automated retention, policy detection and automated risk scoring.

Evidence reconstruction is becoming a governance priority - Nearly a third (31%) of organizations prioritize AI oversight logging, while another 31% prioritize faster cross-channel search and reconstruction, signaling that leaders recognize the need to recreate AI-related activity across systems and channels.

Archives are emerging as foundational for AI innovation - Just under three quarters (70%) of organizations view archives as a major or critical asset for AI-driven innovation, highlighting the role of governed enterprise data in helping organizations use AI responsibly and effectively.

Arctera helps organizations apply AI with the context, oversight and defensibility needed to innovate responsibly, reduce risk and support critical decisions. To learn more and to download the full State of AI Governance 2026 report, visit www.arctera.com/research/ai-communications-governance

Methodology
The survey was administered online in May 2026 by Hanover Research, with respondents recruited through a third-party panel provider. The analysis includes 500 full-time professionals across the Americas and EMEA working in finance, healthcare, and energy/utilities, all of whom are decision-makers or influencers in their organization’s compliance decisions.

About Arctera

Arctera, a business unit of Cloud Software Group, is the leading global provider of compliance and governance solutions that enable firms to unleash game-changing technologies into their organizations while minimizing risk. Created in 2024 from Veritas Technologies, Arctera helps the biggest companies in the world monitor and control exactly how their information is being accessed, used and shared. The Arctera® Unified Platform is able to capture data from over 130+ different content sources, and more than 280 AI policies help firms streamline compliance and adapt to evolving regulations.

Learn more at www.arctera.com or connect with us on LinkedIn

Contact: press@arctera.com

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