Singapore organisations are scaling AI adoption faster than the foundations supporting it, with critical shortfalls in data governance, human oversight, and trust threatening to derail progress, according to new research by Alteryx.
The 2026 Executive Insights on AI, Agentic AI and Enterprise Readiness report surveyed 175 Singapore IT and business leaders as part of a broader global study of 1,400 respondents across nine markets, conducted by Coleman Parkes between August and September 2025.
AI Use Is Up, But Trust Lags Behind
Nearly seven in 10 Singapore leaders reported using AI more in their roles than a year ago, outpacing the global average of 66%. Yet trust remains a significant barrier: only 27% of Singapore leaders fully trust AI for decision-making, with limited human oversight emerging as a top concern — particularly in customer-facing and high-stakes use cases. While 79% trust AI for decision support in some capacity, the clear preference is for AI-assisted, human-verified decisions over autonomous AI action.
“Singapore’s AI ambitions are clear, and the momentum is real. But our research shows that organisations here recognise that technology alone is not enough,” said Philip Madgwick, Regional Vice President, Asia, Alteryx. “The leaders who will succeed in scaling AI are those who invest as much in the foundations as they do in the tools themselves.”
Data Governance and Quality Gaps
60% of Singapore respondents cited centralised data governance as a missing capability in their data stack, compared to 53% globally, raising questions about accountability when AI-driven decisions go wrong. Data quality concerns are similarly more pronounced locally, with 49% citing data quality and accuracy as their top data stack challenge versus 42% globally.
Agentic AI Adoption Outpacing Governance
56% of Singapore organisations are experimenting with agentic AI, ahead of the 47% global average. Yet most have yet to see meaningful impact, reflecting the difficulty of deploying autonomous systems responsibly without adequate governance frameworks in place.
Alteryx’s research identified four foundational priorities organisations must address: keeping humans meaningfully in the loop for high-stakes decisions; building centralised data governance with clear ownership; treating data quality as a prerequisite rather than an afterthought; and establishing governance frameworks for agentic AI before scaling deployments.
The findings come as Singapore’s Budget 2026 places responsible AI adoption firmly on the national agenda.
