IBM survey: 80% of firms saw AI incidents reach board level
Only 40% of companies that experienced an AI incident changed their AI governance policy or management framework, the IBM poll of 3,221 executives found.
IBM has published a survey of 3,221 executives showing that 80% of respondents said AI-related incidents had been reported to the board or C-level in the past year. The findings cover companies with more than 1,000 employees in eight countries across Europe and the Middle East.
Among companies that experienced an AI incident, 40% changed their AI governance policy or management framework, according to the survey.
On agentic AI, 35% of respondent companies said they have it in production, and 75% expect AI agents to have some level of decision-making autonomy by 2027. Only 37% said their current governance framework is designed to scale with agentic AI.
Asked how they would act if deployment outpaced governance preparation, 56% said they would continue within set risk limits, while 33% said they would postpone until governance is ready. On accountability, 98% said AI risk management responsibility is formally assigned at board level and 26% have a dedicated AI committee under the board; 17% named the CIO or CTO as accountable for negative outcomes from AI agents.
The survey was conducted from September 14 to 24, 2026, in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and was reported by inews24.com.
Quick answers
How many executives did IBM survey?
IBM surveyed 3,221 executives at companies with more than 1,000 employees in eight countries in Europe and the Middle East.
When was the IBM survey conducted?
The survey was conducted from September 14 to 24, 2026.
Which countries were included in the survey?
The UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.