# What is AI governance?

> AI governance is the decisions, roles and controls a company uses to manage the risk of the AI systems it builds or buys.

Source: https://meshin.co/glossary/ai-governance
Updated: 2026-10-02

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## Why it comes up

An insurer asks who owns AI risk before writing a policy. A board member reads about an AI failure elsewhere and asks what would happen here. An investor's due-diligence checklist now has a line for it too. Write down who is responsible for each system, and who would notice if it started producing worse answers.

## What to do about it

Start with a one-page register: every AI system in use, who owns it, what data it touches, and whether customer data leaves the building. Assign one named owner per system, not a team. Add a single sign-off step before a new system reaches production. Map what you already do against the NIST AI RMF or ISO/IEC 42001. Do this so you have a recognised structure to point at, not to get certified immediately.