Financial firms in North America are more reluctant to integrate AI into their compliance workflows compared to their counterparts in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA), new research suggests. According to Global Relay’s third annual compliance report, 56.3% of North American respondents have no plans to incorporate AI into their compliance processes in the coming year. By contrast, 71.4% of EMEA respondents plan to introduce AI in the same timeframe.
According to Global Relay, the report draws on insights from hundreds of compliance and surveillance professionals globally. It found that 33.3% of EMEA respondents and 32% of North American respondents are currently utilising AI in compliance workflows. The rest of the world (RoW) presents a slightly higher adoption rate at 41.2%, suggesting a more proactive stance towards AI technologies.
The data indicates a geographical divide in AI adoption, with North American firms showing a marked hesitation. This hesitancy aligns with the findings from the previous year, where 65.9% of North American respondents expressed no intention of adopting AI, compared to 72.7% of EMEA respondents who were ready to embrace AI technologies. Although there has been a slight shift towards a less sceptical view of AI in North America, EMEA continues to lead in AI adoption.
Regulatory environments influence AI integration
The report said that regulatory frameworks significantly impact firms’ decisions to integrate AI into compliance processes. The EU AI Act aims to establish clear guidelines for AI use, potentially encouraging EMEA firms to adopt AI technologies. In contrast, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has recently adopted a ‘technology-neutral’ stance, which might encourage North American firms to reconsider their position on AI integration.
“Recent technological advances in AI are moving the needle quickly when it comes to adoption, although AI is still generally perceived as difficult, expensive, and only marginally effective for risk detection use cases,” said Global Relay Compliance Supervision vice-president Don McElligott. “It will be very interesting to see if adoption numbers increase as organisations realise the value and availability of effective AI solutions.”
Despite the cautious approach in North America, there is a significant use of AI for managing communications and surveillance, likely driven by the SEC’s ongoing enforcement efforts. These efforts focus on addressing off-channel communications and related misconduct.
The report highlighted differing views on banning communication channels such as WhatsApp and WeChat as a compliance solution. While 50.6% of North American firms find bans effective, only 31.7% of EMEA firms agree. The trend is shifting away from banning communication channels, with more firms opting to enable and monitor all channels. In 2025, 39% of firms are permitting all communication channels while monitoring them, a notable increase from 17.4% in 2024.
Additionally, the report noted a decline in the belief that bans are effective, with only 48% of survey respondents in 2025 supporting this view, down from 56% in 2023. Compliance challenges are evolving, with only 29.5% of respondents citing adherence to compliance policies as a major issue, a significant drop from 65.2% in 2024. Meanwhile, 52.4% view social media channels as a significant compliance risk.
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