AI Adoption Often Slow + Chaotic, TR Survey Finds

2026-06-22 · Source: Artificial Lawyer · Field: Business & Management — Corporate Strategy & Leadership, Human Resources & Workforce Development, Operations & Process Management · Depth: Fundamental Awareness, short

Summary

A recent Thomson Reuters survey, conducted in March-April 2026 among 1,816 professionals across law, tax, audit, accounting, compliance, risk, and global trade in 62 countries, reveals that AI adoption is often slow and chaotic within professional sectors. One third of lawyers, accountants, and compliance professionals are using unapproved "shadow" AI, a figure that rises to 41% among those perceiving their organization as too slow on AI. Concurrently, a quarter of professionals plan to leave their jobs within two years due to insufficient AI tools. Despite these issues, almost half of senior leaders believe significant talent pressure is still at least three years away. Thomson Reuters CEO Steve Hasker advocates for "Fiduciary-Grade AI" solutions, emphasizing higher standards for outputs that shape legal judgments or client advice, to build trust and verifiability.

Key takeaway

For executives and legal professionals weighing AI integration strategies, your firm's slow adoption risks both data security breaches from unapproved "shadow" AI and significant talent loss. You must prioritize implementing secure, verifiable AI tools and address staff expectations for modern workflows. Failing to keep pace will lead to reduced morale and a competitive disadvantage, potentially harming your business in ways difficult to recover from.

Key insights

Slow AI adoption fosters shadow AI use and talent attrition, while leadership often underestimates the urgency.

Principles

• AI adoption slowness creates business jeopardy.
• High-liability professions require "Fiduciary-Grade AI".
• Talent retention links to AI tool provision.

Method

Thomson Reuters proposes enterprise-level "Fiduciary-Grade AI" solutions, like CoCounsel products, which enhance security and data accuracy using RAG and other methods, even when leveraging general models.

In practice

• Implement secure, enterprise-grade AI tools.
• Address staff expectations for AI integration.
• Monitor shadow AI use within the organization.

Topics

• AI Adoption
• Shadow AI
• Talent Retention
• Legal Technology
• Professional Services
• Fiduciary-Grade AI

Best for: CTO, VP of Engineering/Data, Director of AI/ML, Legal Professional, Consultant, Executive

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Artificial Lawyer.