AI is suddenly everywhere in GRC. Every tool claims to be "AI-powered," and every conference seems to have a session about how AI will change compliance forever.

But from what I've seen, most of this feels more like marketing than real transformation.

The part that frustrates me most is that AI is often treated like a magic fix for messy processes. I don't think AI is useless but I think it's being positioned as smarter than it actually is.

To be clear, I'm very optimistic about AI in GRC. I just think we need to be honest about what it can and can't do.

Why AI Feels Overhyped in GRC

In practice, a lot of "AI in GRC" looks like:

• Fancy summaries of policies
• Chatbots over control descriptions
• Auto-tagging evidence
• Basic pattern matching with better branding

These are helpful features. But they're not solving the real pain points in GRC.

AI doesn't:

• Fix unclear controls
• Fix poor evidence quality
• Fix broken workflows
• Fix lack of ownership

It just makes those problems… move faster.

The Real Problem Isn't Data. It's Meaning

GRC isn't about information. It's about interpretation.

We don't just ask:

• "Is the control there?"

We ask:

• "Is it working?"
• "Is it sufficient?"
• "Is it consistent?"
• "Is it defensible to an auditor or regulator?"

AI can surface signals. But it can't understand:

• Business context
• Risk appetite
• Compensating controls
• Political reality inside orgs

That's human work.

Where AI Actually Helps (When Used Right)

AI is powerful when it reduces noise and grunt work:

• Summarizing long regulatory updates
• Highlighting changes between policy versions
• Clustering similar evidence
• Flagging anomalies in large datasets
• Helping draft first-pass documentation

This saves time. And time is what GRC teams never have enough of.

Used correctly, AI:

• Speeds up prep
• Improves consistency
• Reduces manual effort

Not replaces judgment.

Why Humans Still Matter

Even with AI, GRC professionals remain critical:

• Context matters: AI doesn't know what matters most to your business
• Judgment matters: Risk isn't binary
• Accountability matters: Humans sign off, not models
• Trust matters: Auditors trust people, not black boxes

Automation gets you closer to answers. Humans decide what those answers mean.

The Smarter Way to Think About AI in GRC

Instead of asking:

"Can AI run my compliance program?"

We should be asking:

• "Can AI remove busywork?"
• "Can AI improve signal quality?"
• "Can AI support better decisions?"

The goal isn't AI-driven compliance.

The goal is human-driven GRC with AI support.

That's a very different future.

Final Thought

AI in GRC isn't a revolution. It's an accelerator.

If your program is strong, AI makes it better. If your program is weak, AI makes the cracks more visible.

And honestly? That's probably a good thing.

TL;DR

• AI in GRC is often more hype than reality
• It can't replace judgment, context, or accountability
• It's best used to reduce noise and manual work
• The future is human-led GRC, AI-assisted workflows

Connect with me on LinkedIn and let's chat.

The views in this post are my own and do not reflect those of my current or past employers.