How boards can use AI insights to elevate governance

AI has shifted from a distant, future promise to a very present consideration. Large language models are already changing how decisions are made across organisations around the world — and have made their way to the very top: the board.

For boards, this shift opens up a new playing field — one where data doesn’t just inform, it anticipates; where insight moves in real time; and where better questions lead to better outcomes. However, for many board members, AI has felt reserved for those with more hands-on experience of technical acumen — perhaps even somewhat out of reach. In order for organisations to thrive, and for boards to create maximal value, this needs to change. 

This article explores how AI-driven insights can help boards to raise their game — from spotting early warning signs in volatile markets, to strengthening governance, to optimising meetings. We'll explore: 

• What AI insights boards can benefit from
• How they can be used to enhance board meetings
• Practical ways to embrace AI insights in the boardroom

Let’s dive in. 

What are AI insights and how can boards use them? 

AI has firmly reached the board — and the executives who embrace it will position their organisations for untold benefits. However, for many, AI is being viewed as something for the IT team, rather than a transformation of entire organisations. 

According to Chuck Whitten, Partner at Bain & Co., “What separates leaders from laggards in any industry is something that is easy to say and hard to do: Treat AI like a business transformation, not a technology deployment.” He continues, “AI is not just another tool. It requires rewiring processes, rethinking cost structures, and embedding AI-driven capabilities deep into how the business operates.” 

AI insights are a great example of this. Viewed correctly, they help boards cut through complexity, fast. They’re real-time patterns, insights, and signals drawn from vast data — not just numbers, but meaning. For boards, they turn information overload into clear, confident direction at pace.

AI insights reveal risks early, surface hidden connections, and enhance efficiency. Used well, they shift the focus from reviewing the past to preparing for what’s next. Here are some examples: 

Upgrading traditional board reporting using AI insights

Traditional board reports are like rear-view mirrors: detailed, reliable, and fixed on the past. AI insights work differently. They’re dynamic, predictive, and designed for pace. Rather than looking back, they spot what’s coming by analysing both structured and unstructured data in real time — from financials and operations to news sentiment and customer signals.

How AI insights can help:

• Real-time processing: No waiting for reports — insights update as data flows in.
• Pattern recognition: They detect shifts too small for humans to spot.
• Forward focus: They help boards act early, not after the fact.

The strategic value in AI insights 

AI isn’t just a smarter spreadsheet. For boards, its value lies in helping navigate uncertainty, challenge assumptions, and focus on what matters most. When used strategically, AI becomes a lens — not just a tool.

AI-driven insights can support strategic thinking by:

• Providing actionable summaries of lengthy documents
• Surfacing relevant points from past discussions 
• Enhancing focus — automating away routine, administrative tasks.

AI insights help reframe how boards engage — driving strategic conversations, not just operational updates. Boards that use AI well don’t just move faster — they see further. 

How AI supports better decision-making

When the landscape shifts faster than the agenda, boards need more than hindsight — they need foresight they can trust. AI brings speed and substance to board decision-making, cutting through complexity and sharpening clarity. It doesn’t replace judgement. It amplifies it.

As Whitten explains, “The decisions boards make today—on investment, leadership, governance, and strategy—will shape how AI transforms their industries and the world.” 

What board decisions can AI insights support?

AI won’t make the big calls for you — but it makes those decisions faster, smarter, and better informed. 

Boards can use AI to:

• Prioritise risks 
• Spot execution drift before KPIs signal trouble
• Model regulatory impact across different business areas

These insights raise the quality and speed of decisioning-making. And when timing is everything, that’s a serious edge.

Strategic alignment: spotting new opportunities and threats

AI insights can help provide answers to every board’s big question: Are we still on the right track? 

By scanning internal metrics and external signals in real time, it spots when strategy starts to drift — whether it’s shifting markets, competitor moves, or changing customer needs. With this early intelligence, boards can challenge assumptions, realign priorities, and keep strategy grounded in reality.

Oversight: identifying hidden risks through patterns

Some risks are obvious. Others are buried deep in the data. AI surfaces both.

By connecting financial, operational, and reputational data, AI insights can help boards to spot patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. This gives risk committees more than metrics. It gives them insight — helping boards move from monitoring threats to truly understanding them, and acting early.

Enhanced governance: Detecting compliance issues early 

Most governance failures don’t come from deliberate wrongdoing. They come from blind spots. Oversights. Slow signals that go unnoticed until they snowball.

AI helps close that gap. It can flag inconsistencies in policy application, track regulatory changes, and monitor compliance across geographies — all without relying on manual checks. Think of it as a governance radar. Always on. Always scanning. Always ready to flag issues before they show up in a headline.

How can AI insights enhance board meetings?

Board meetings are the stage on which boards perform — and while AI insights aren’t a silver bullet, they can become a force multiplier for board meetings, and therefore for boards. 

The right tools don’t just promise smarter meetings — they deliver them. From slashing prep time to sharpening decisions, here’s how AI is already reshaping the boardroom. Here’s are some of the ways that AI insights can elevate your board meetings: 

Actionable summaries 

Board materials are getting bulkier, not better. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of attachments. Complex, fast-moving topics.

That’s where Natural Language Processing (NLP) shines. Sherpany’s AI-powered Document Copilot reads through the overload and presents what matters — fast. It summarises agenda documents, extracts risks, highlights trends, and gives board members a running start.

• A dense ESG report becomes a crisp bullet-point summary.
• A legal appendix turns into a one-pager on exposure areas.
• A 60-slide deck? Reduced to the five points worth discussing.

All without losing nuance — and without sacrificing your weekend.

Timely insights 

What if your board could see further? Predictive analytics give boards an edge — transforming strategic decisions from reactive to proactive.

Sherpany enables secure integration of insights into the boardroom:

• How is our scenario planning holding up under different economic assumptions?
• What early indicators are telling us about customer churn or supply risk?
• Do we have enough diversity in our succession pipeline?

Reduced admin 

Time that board members spend on routine, manual tasks is time that could’ve been spent exercising human judgement and delivering expertise. AI insights can reduce the administrative burden of board meetings considerably — from preparing agendas, to summarising board documents, to auto-transcribing meetings and delivering AI-generated meeting minutes for review, this can cut the admin for board meetings and unlock vital focus and time for more impactful work. 

What once took days now takes minutes — without the email chains, version mix-ups, or last-minute scrambles.

Smarter board meetings, start to finish

Boards are embracing continuous improvement — and some AI tools help measure exactly that. Sherpany tracks the rhythm and impact of each meeting, surfacing insights that used to hide in the margins:

• Are action items consistently closed before the next meeting?
• How much time is spent on strategy versus operations?
• Are decisions traceable, or do they get lost in the noise?

With these insights, boards can hold up a mirror to their own effectiveness — and make adjustments that matter. Sherpany makes that feedback loop seamless, secure, and embedded in every meeting cycle.

How can boards start using AI insights today? 

Boards don’t need deep tech skills to benefit from AI-driven insights — just a clear starting point. With the right mindset and one focused use case, boards can unlock quick wins and build confidence as they bring AI into their governance toolkit.

Here’s how to get started: 

Build AI literacy

Boards don’t need to code — but they do need to speak AI. That means understanding how it analyses data, generates predictions, and where its limits lie. And it often means closing a skills gap . 

In a recent Deloitte survey, only 2% of board members globally considered themselves highly knowledgeable in AI — a gap that risks widening as the pace of change accelerates. That’s why building baseline literacy is now a boardroom essential.

Workshops, expert briefings, or curated reading lists can build this shared literacy. According to Marco Narcisi, CEO of AIFlow.ML, “By combining simple explanations with concrete examples, you can help…understand the probabilistic nature of AI predictions.”

Start small

The fastest way to build confidence is to try it. Start with a focused, low-risk use case — like automating meeting prep — and run a short pilot. 

For instance, using AI to summarise board documents can save hours, surface key points, and bring everyone to the table better prepared. It’s a small shift that delivers big impact — and builds momentum.

Use the right tools

Not all AI is created equal. Boards need tools that understand their world — not generic platforms built for broader enterprise use.

Look for solutions that:

• Prioritise security and data privacy
• Keep sensitive information in-house (not shared with public models)
• Deliver insights tailored to board workflows, not operational noise

Board solutions like Sherpany are designed specifically for formal leadership meetings. They offer features like automated meeting summaries, compliance tracking, and strategic insight generation — all built with the governance context in mind.

Will your board govern ahead — or fall behind?

AI insights aren’t a trend. They’re not a passing wave of hype to watch from the shore. They’re a new toolkit — one that’s already reshaping how boards lead, govern, and future-proof their organisations.

The question is no longer if your board should engage with AI, but how. Because the boards that act now — that start small, build confidence, and integrate AI into their decision-making fabric — will do more than keep pace. They’ll set the pace. And in doing so, they won’t just respond to change — they’ll shape what comes next.

Curious how to sharpen your board’s decisions? Book a free demo and see how Sherpany puts AI insights at your boards’ fingertips.