OutSystems Research Reveals Enterprise AI Governance Gap
OutSystems released research showing a significant gap between executive confidence in AI agent governance and the actual ability to resolve agent conflicts.
Research released by OutSystems in collaboration with CIO Dive and KPMG reveals a stark disconnect between executive confidence and operational readiness regarding agentic AI. While 82% of surveyed IT decision-makers believe their organizations can keep pace with governing AI agents, only 26% feel prepared to resolve conflicts between agents, systems, and automated workflows.
The study of 858 executives found that 83% of companies still rely on traditional IT and security processes for oversight, while only 5% have implemented automated controls and audit trails. Regional disparities are evident, with Asia-Pacific organizations reporting higher preparedness for conflict resolution at 39% and automated governance at 14%. In contrast, North America reported the lowest levels of readiness, with only 18% prepared for conflict resolution and 2% utilizing automated governance.
OutSystems CIO Tiago Azevedo argued that safety must be built into the platform rather than reviewed afterward. Similarly, KPMG Managing Director Michael Harper stated that traditional procedural governance was built for static software and that enterprises now require policy-as-code and runtime guardrails to achieve true operational readiness. Despite these governance challenges, the research noted operational gains in error reduction, though only 12% of respondents reported that agentic AI has accelerated the launch of new products.
