The future of governance lies in blending human insight with intelligent tools – and the company secretary is uniquely placed to lead that evolution.
AI and corporate governance: a new era of strategic enablement
As the demands on boards grow, from regulatory pressure to information volume, governance professionals are being asked to do more with less. AI is beginning to play a meaningful role in this shift: not as a silver bullet, but as a tool to support better oversight, sharper insight, and more efficient ways of working. For company secretaries, this presents an opportunity to enhance their strategic role – using AI to reduce administrative burden, support data-led decisions, and help boards stay focused on what matters most.
The evolving role of the company secretary in the age of AI
The company secretary’s role extends far beyond administrative duties – they act as strategic governance advisors, supporting board effectiveness, risk oversight, regulatory compliance, and alignment with organizational priorities. Increasingly, our clients are looking for governance leaders who not only fulfil core responsibilities but also drive transformation, embed continuous improvement, and strengthen operational performance within governance functions.
In a context of rapid change, information overload, and growing regulatory demands, boards are looking for more than procedural support. They seek proactive governance partners — individuals who can deliver insight, anticipate risks, and support long-term, strategic thinking. When adopted thoughtfully, AI can help company secretaries meet these expectations: freeing up time, enhancing oversight, and reinforcing their role as trusted advisors to the board.
Where AI adds value in the corporate governance function
AI can support company secretaries to work more efficiently and strategically by helping to navigate vast volumes of information and enabling data-led decision-making. By automating routine tasks and streamlining workflows, AI allows governance professionals to redirect time toward higher-value activities – strengthening their role as strategic advisors to the Board. When thoughtfully applied, AI can complement existing governance practices in a number of ways, including:
- Board performance monitoring: AI-powered dashboards can track board engagement, flag governance gaps, and highlight areas for performance improvement.
- Enhanced collaboration: AI-enabled tools can facilitate seamless communication and information sharing between directors and senior executives, improving collaboration and visibility across the leadership team.
- Regulatory compliance: AI can track regulatory changes in real-time, helping ensure timely compliance with evolving legal and governance requirements.
- Self-service governance support: AI chatbots – already being used in some fintech governance teams – can handle routine policy queries, allowing the wider team to self-serve while ensuring consistency and accuracy in responses.
- Administrative automation: tasks such as meeting scheduling, board pack collation, document filing, and initial drafting of minutes can be automated, reducing manual effort and freeing up company secretaries to focus on higher-value strategic activities.
- Enhanced minute-taking: AI can support the drafting of board minutes, allowing professionals to focus on capturing the substance, context, and intent behind decisions – not just recording what was said, but what was agreed.
With boards increasingly inundated by information, company secretaries play a critical role in curating insights, enabling strategic focus, and guiding where attention should be placed – roles that AI can meaningfully support when integrated thoughtfully.
Ethical and governance considerations in AI adoption
The benefits of AI must be balanced against its inherent risks. Responsible and ethical implementation is paramount – particularly where AI intersects with sensitive data, decision-making, and regulatory obligations. Company secretaries play a central role in establishing governance frameworks for AI use, including policies on data privacy, algorithmic transparency, and compliance with regulations such as GDPR. It is increasingly important that governance professionals understand how AI tools process data and remain alert to risks such as bias, inconsistency, or unintended consequences.
As Moya Hayhurst, experienced Company Secretary and research contributor to the Centre for AI in Board Effectiveness, notes: “Company secretaries cannot do this alone.” Rather they must “cultivate curiosity and work collaboratively with stakeholders” across technology, legal, risk, and cybersecurity to understand the organization’s existing AI footprint and define appropriate governance protocols.
By asking the right questions and proactively engaging with cross-functional teams, company secretaries can ensure AI tools are adopted in a manner that is secure, responsible, and aligned with organizational values.
AI as an enabler – not a replacement
While AI can enhance productivity and improve insight generation, it cannot replace human judgement – especially in areas that require nuance and contextual understanding. For example, the preparation of board minutes must still reflect the subtleties of decision-making, tone, and strategic direction – elements AI cannot fully replicate. As with any automated tool, outputs must be reviewed and interpreted with care to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with board expectations.
Directors should also be cautious about over-relying on AI-generated summaries of board materials, as this can unintentionally reinforce groupthink and dilute the diverse viewpoints that boards are designed to harness.
AI should be viewed as a thinking partner or digital research assistant – a tool that complements, rather than replaces, the critical thinking and professional judgment of governance professionals. The company secretary remains central to governance oversight, ethical AI deployment, and strategic decision-making in an increasingly digital governance environment.
