AI in Hong Kong Business: Protiviti Pulse Survey Series Tracks Real-World Adoption

Agentic AI can operate more independently than generative AI, with less human input. Instead of requiring constant human oversight or even prompts, it can autonomously make decisions to achieve particular goals. Instead of being focused on creating content, it is more focused on decision-making. 

Protiviti’s AI Pulse survey found that 30% of organisations identified integration as their biggest challenge to optimising AI, highlighting how connecting new AI to existing systems often stalls projects. Artificial intelligence consulting services provide expert guidance to integrate tailored AI solutions that streamline operations, enhance decision-making and drive innovation, while ensuring proper AI management and governance.

By leveraging AI services, businesses in Hong Kong can remain competitive, accelerate growth and responsibly adapt to an AI-driven future with confidence.

According to Protiviti’s 2025 Finance Trends survey, 72% of finance organisations are now employing AI - including generative and agentic AI - up from just 34% last year. AI is revolutionising industries by enhancing efficiency, cutting costs and driving innovation.

In financial services, AI services can detect fraud, identify money-laundering in real-time, and automate credit risk scoring. Banks also deploy AI-powered chatbots to improve customer service and use predictive analytics for personalised product recommendations. In the insurance sector, AI can streamline claims processing, detects fraudulent claims, and enhances underwriting accuracy through data-driven insights.

Beyond the financial services industry, AI can save lives with accurate predictions in healthcare. In manufacturing, it can speed up processes and reduce manual labour. Across all sectors, AI consulting firms help businesses strengthen cybersecurity by automating threat detection and minimising data risks.

Protiviti’s AI Pulse survey found that 42% of respondents see training and upskilling as the most important need for improving AI success. This highlights a key challenge: ensuring employees have the skills to work effectively with new technologies.

Beyond capability gaps, organisations - especially in the highly regulated financial sector also struggle to identify high-impact AI use cases, navigate evolving compliance requirements, and manage risks such as data privacy and model transparency.

AI Pulse survey vol. 2 findings also show that 57% of mature organisations cite inadequate data governance as their biggest challenge, underscoring the need for strong governance frameworks to balance innovation with risk.

Balancing innovation with risk starts with a robust AI governance framework aligned to regulatory guidance. Across Hong Kong, AI governance is evolving quickly. Ethical and generative AI frameworks are rapidly evolving, with both mandatory and voluntary guardrails across various jurisdictions. What’s clear however, is that governments and regulators are setting clear expectations - strong oversight, human-in-the-loop controls, transparency, cyber risk governance, third-party risk management, and defined senior management accountability. 

Protiviti’s AI Pulse survey shows that data audits are more than twice as common in mature AI organisations compared to early adopters - evidence that strong oversight leads to stronger outcomes.

To sustain a balance, businesses should embed regular monitoring and assurance, and foster collaboration between risk, compliance and business teams. Working with an experienced AI consulting partner can further help integrate governance into day-to-day practices, enabling organisations to innovate with confidence while keeping risk under control.

Responsible AI adoption starts with strong data governance - the backbone of scalable AI. Protiviti’s AI Pulse survey shows that even among advanced organisations, many still identify inadequate governance as a top challenge, proving it’s not just a best practice but a necessity.

Security and compliance risks also remain high on the agenda, with mature organisations frequently citing them as major concerns, alongside technology limitations. Addressing these issues through clear governance, robust oversight and secure frameworks ensures AI is deployed ethically, transparently and effectively.

And just as importantly, responsible adoption isn’t only about managing technology, it’s also about empowering people, with training and upskilling critical to long-term AI success.