The Board Decision Gap: AI Transforms the Deal, But Boards Still Govern the Outcome

ZURICH, Switze la d, July 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A tificial i tellige ce is apidly becomi g a baseli e expectatio i dealmaki g, with 62% of dealmake s sayi g huma -o ly decisio -maki g is o lo ge defe sible a d 71% believi g fi ms that ig o e AI today will ot be able to compete ove the ext five yea s.

Yet the esea ch also shows that boa ds emai the c itical gove a ce laye fo AI-powe ed dealmaki g, espo sible fo e su i g ecomme datio s a e accu ate, auditable a d accou table.

Acco di g to The New Deal Team, a ew epo t f om Datasite i collabo atio with FT Lo gitude, 73% of dealmake s a e al eady usi g AI fo boa d epo ti g a d gove a ce, while just 22% a e willi g to let AI make the fi al ecomme datio o whethe to sig a deal.

The fi di gs poi t to a boa d decisio gap: AI is t a sfo mi g how deal i fo matio is gathe ed, a alyzed a d p ese ted, but accou tability fo the decisive mome t still ests with people.

The esea ch, based o a su vey of 1,000 se io dealmake s ac oss 27 cou t ies, also fou d that accu acy (71%), secu ity (70%) a d eliability (58%) a e the top att ibutes equi ed f om AI, u de sco i g the eed fo boa ds to dema d p ove a ce, auditability a d co fide ce i AI-i fo med ecomme datio s.

Othe key fi di gs f om the esea ch i clude:

• 23% expect AI to delive highe -quality decisio -maki g at boa d level by 2030, suggesti g that decisio quality, ot speed, is whe e AI is expected to pay back at the top.

Executive Comme tTobias Häcke ma , Ge e al Ma age of She pa y, said:“AI is t a sfo mi g the deal, but boa ds still gove the outcome. The data shows that AI-i fo med decisio s a e ow the baseli e expectatio , yet huma judgme t co ti ues to ow the decisive mome t. As AI becomes embedded i boa d epo ti g, a alysis a d ecomme datio s, boa ds must dema d accu acy, secu ity, eliability a d clea p ove a ce. The o ga izatio s that succeed will be those that combi e AI-powe ed i tellige ce with discipli ed gove a ce a d high-quality decisio -maki g.”

About the epo tDatasite commissio ed FT Lo gitude, the specialist esea ch a d co te t studio of the Fi a cial Times G oup, to su vey 1,000 dealmake s at the C-suite o C-1 level ac oss 27 cou t ies i Ma ch 2026. Respo de ts ep ese ted co po ate developme t, p ivate equity, law, accou ti g a d p ofessio al se vices a d all had decisio -maki g espo sibility i at least th ee deals du i g the p evious 24 mo ths. Visit Datasite to dow load The New Deal Team epo t.

About She pa yShe pa y is the leadi g meeti g ma ageme t a d gove a ce platfo m helpi g boa ds a d executive teams make bette decisio s. T usted by o ga izatio s ac oss Eu ope a d beyo d, She pa y st eamli es boa d p ocesses, imp oves gove a ce a d e ables leade s to focus o decisio quality, accou tability a d st ategic outcomes.

About DatasiteDatasite p ovides the i f ast uctu e that e ables i fo matio flow fo p ivate ma ket t a sactio s, with pu pose-built tools utilized to optimize outcomes. Datasite’s i ovative p oduct po tfolio, which spa s sell-side vi tual data ooms, buy-side i tellige ce (G ata), age tic AI applicatio s (Blueflame AI), boa d meeti g a d gove a ce ma ageme t (She pa y), a d a ope data i f ast uctu e laye , d ives executio ac oss the full i vestme t lifecycle while ge e ati g u ique data i sights to empowe i vesto s, adviso s, a d deal p ofessio als wo ldwide. T usted by top p ivate equity a d law fi ms, i vestme t ba ks, a d co sulta cies, Datasite is built o 26 yea s of e te p ise-g ade secu ity, complia ce, a d eliability.

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