According to a new survey by Gartner, legal disputes stemming from AI regulatory violations are expected to rise by 30% by 2028, underscoring a widening gap between AI deployment and compliance preparedness across global tech enterprises.
The research, based on responses from 360 IT leaders involved in GenAI rollouts, reveals that over 70% consider regulatory compliance among their top three challenges. Yet, only 23% of respondents express strong confidence in their ability to govern the security and compliance aspects of enterprise GenAI tools.
Fragmented Global Regulation Fuels Uncertainty
“AI regulation is evolving at vastly different speeds around the world,” said Lydia Clougherty Jones, Senior Director Analyst at Gartner. “This lack of alignment is creating incoherent compliance obligations and increasing enterprise exposure to liabilities.”
These fragmented frameworks complicate AI investment decisions, especially for multinational tech firms, where inconsistent rules can stifle innovation and expose them to litigation.
The survey also found that 57% of non-US IT leaders feel the geopolitical climate is significantly impacting their GenAI strategy. However, nearly 60% of them say they are either unable or unwilling to adopt non-US GenAI alternatives—creating operational gridlock as policy and infrastructure clash.
Sovereign AI Pressures and Risk Mitigation Gaps
Sovereign AI is becoming a growing concern among enterprises. In a recent Gartner webinar poll, 66% of participants said they were actively responding to sovereign AI strategies, and 52% are already making operational model changes.
Still, the path to secure and compliant GenAI use remains unclear for many. Gartner recommends a fusion-team approach—bringing together data scientists, legal experts, and decision engineers to design pre-testing protocols that validate model outputs and flag risks. Enterprises are also urged to train models to self-correct, apply rigorous content moderation, and deploy sandbox environments for safer experimentation.
AI Governance No Longer Optional
Gartner’s findings are a wake-up call for tech leaders to treat AI risk and compliance as boardroom priorities. With regulatory scrutiny intensifying across the US, EU, and APAC regions, proactive governance can mean the difference between breakthrough success and regulatory setbacks.
Enterprises that delay action risk not only fines and lawsuits but reputational damage that could derail their AI strategies entirely.
