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Facing the Truth: Agentic AI Is Now the Boardroom’s Toughest—and Most Trusted—Advisor

Tony Wood |

When was the last time your board received feedback so candid it changed the course of strategy? For most enterprises, the honest answer is: too long ago.

Boards by nature are political. Consultants sometimes temper the harshest truths, worried about upsetting future revenue streams. Internal staff? Understandably cautious—no one wants to shoot themselves in the foot. Yet, what if you could finally remove those filters? Agentic AI—deployed smartly—is becoming the impartial, unflinching voice boards and CEOs cannot get anywhere else.

Why Humans—However Brilliant—Struggle With Complete Objectivity

Let’s be blunt: Even the best boards have blind spots.

  • Internal reviews are often softened—no leader enjoys being the bearer of bad news, especially if their own job could be at risk.
  • Consultancies, however independent, have recurring contracts and reputations to safeguard. The feedback is rarely as harsh as reality.
  • Board members themselves? Cognitive bias and internal relationships shape what gets said—and what’s left out.

A recent experience with Dilijenz underscores this. When an agentic AI reviewed an entire company's financials, the feedback came back tougher than any human committee ever dared. The system highlighted unsustainable cost structures, flagged “sacred cow” inefficiencies, and called out risk exposures without sugarcoating. For the first time, the board had nowhere to hide from reality—and that’s how change begins.

“It was direct, insightful and pulled no punches. Just what I needed”

What Makes Agentic AI Different—And Indispensable

Agentic AI refers to autonomous, intelligent digital agents capable of reviewing board packs, data trails, and compliance documentation, free from personal risk or corporate politics. Here’s why that matters:

How Bold Boards Are Already Using Agentic Governance

Here’s what high-maturity agentic workflows look like:

  • CEO’s Sidekick: A digital agent reviews all quarterly and annual accounts, raising red flags and showing missed compliance details for executive review (What Is Agentic AI? — LexisNexis Counsellink, Mar 2025).
  • Red Team for Board Packs: Before every important meeting, the agentic runs parallel diligence, comparing agenda materials with operational and external data sources. No unconscious omission escapes.
  • Broadcasting Unfiltered Insights to All Board Members: More advanced boards route the agentic’s regular feedback to each member—levelling the playing field and triggering debates that used to get buried.

Real Impact: From Tough Feedback to Tangible Results

In 2025, one national retail client implemented an agentic diligence review. Previously unreported overspends and soft goals were surfaced, not with blame, but with clinical clarity. The result?

  • New controls slashed waste and bureaucracy, saving millions in the first quarter.
  • Transparent, repeatable governance processes—trusted by investors and auditors.
  • A board culture shift: Senior directors valued hard truths, not just easy wins.

(AI Agents are Changing Business, Governance will Define Who Wins — Holistic AI, Apr 2025)

Agentic AI Is Not a Replacement—It’s an Amplifier

To be clear, agentic AI is not about replacing directors or minimising judgement. It’s about delivering timely, sharp, and utterly objective input—empowering boards to govern with courage and speed.

For enterprises, this isn’t just a technology upgrade—it’s insurance against being blindsided or falling behind more agile rivals. In a climate where regulatory, investor, and public scrutiny keeps intensifying, having “the hard talk” is now a board-level USP.

How To Bring Agentic Governance to Your Board—First Steps

  • Pilot a Sidekick Agentic: Start in finance (budget reviews, controls) or compliance. Measure the difference in board conversation quality and decisions.
  • Build in Red Team Reviews: Task your agentic with critically reviewing major agenda items before votes.
  • Educate and Empower: Develop a board-level “AI for Directors” session—demystify how agentic outputs can support, not undermine, human experience.

Want to Stay Ahead? Adopt Before It’s Mandated.

Agentic AI will soon be a base expectation for enterprise governance—not a differentiator. Those who learn to work with, interrogate, and critically interpret these digital agents will be the boards that win, not just survive, the next cycle.

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