Oct 28 / IT CPE Team

Unlocking AI Value: Why Risk Management is the Key to Generative AI Success in 2025


Generative AI (GenAI) was billed as the ultimate efficiency engine—automating tedious workflows, cutting costs, and supercharging decision-making. In risk and compliance, however, the reality has often been modest gains at best. A groundbreaking 2025 research report cuts through the noise to reveal the core issue: we’ve been too cautious with AI.

Generative AI in Risk and Compliance 2025 draws on:
  • A survey of 224 senior risk and compliance leaders in the UK and US.
  • In-depth evaluation of 620 real-world GenAI applications.
  • Candid interviews with eight leading industry experts.
The verdict? Breakthrough ROI demands embracing more AI risk—if you have world-class risk management to back it up.
The ROI Paradox: Safe AI = Small WinsMost organizations begin with “low-risk” GenAI pilots: summarization, document search, basic reporting. These are compliant, auditable, and… underwhelming. Key findings from the research:
  • Only 47 of 620 applications achieved transformative impact.
  • These high-value use cases relied on advanced reasoning and judgment—capabilities that carry inherent risk.
  • Conversely, 22 applications created transformative threats, driven by fraud, bias, and cybersecurity vulnerabilities.
The pattern is clear: the safest deployments deliver the smallest returns.
“Companies are trapped in a low-yield cycle—using AI where it’s easy, not where it creates real value.”
— Kristof Horompoly, VP of AI Risk Management, ValidMind
What Risk Leaders Are Saying98.2% report new or increased GenAI challengesThe hardest-hit areas? Financial crime, compliance monitoring, and cybersecurity—where financial exposure is greatest.Less than half feel “very confident” controlling GenAI risksYet 96.9% are actively using (or planning) multiple GenAI capabilities in risk workflows.Top adoption barrier: Data quality (45.3%)Followed by cost, integration, and governance hurdles. A powerful heatmap in the report maps GenAI capabilities (reasoning, synthesis, prediction) against 31 risk and compliance workflows—highlighting high-impact opportunities that remain locked behind unmanaged risk.
Risk Management: From Blocker to AcceleratorOld mindset: Risk and compliance slow AI down.
New reality: They make bold AI possible. Elite risk management doesn’t just prevent failures—it creates strategic freedom. By:
  • Quantifying exposure,
  • Stress-testing models,
  • Building adaptive controls,
…organizations can confidently deploy GenAI in high-stakes areas like:
  • Real-time fraud detection,
  • Regulatory forecasting,
  • Third-party risk intelligence.
“AI safety is AI progress—not because of what it restricts, but because of what it enables.”
— Report Executive Summary
Voices from the Front LinesThe report features unfiltered insights from pioneers in AI governance:
  • Anna Nicolis (Shapes First): Why incomplete metadata is silently killing AI accuracy.
  • Chris Shaw (Signal AI): The scaling trap of low-risk pilots.
  • Su Cizem (Institute for AI Policy and Strategy): The global AI arms race and the urgent need for “red lines.”
  • Guru Sethupathy (FairNow): Building AI that governs itself—fairly and transparently.
The Winning PlaybookThe AI race is on. Falling behind isn’t an option—but neither is reckless speed. The organizations that will lead aren’t the fastest adopters. They’re the smartest risk managers. By turning compliance into a predictive, data-driven engine, they’ll:
  • Unlock 10x use cases others avoid,
  • Build resilient and auditable AI systems,
  • Dominate in both performance and responsibility.
Access the Full ResearchReady to move beyond safe-but-small AI wins? Download the complete Generative AI in Risk and Compliance 2025 report - including exclusive heatmaps, impact analysis, expert interviews, and actionable frameworks.
Don’t cap your AI potential with caution.
Master risk. Unlock reward.

Share this page: