Australian bosses don’t trust their own AI - and we’re paying the price

Australian business and technology leaders are less confident in the AI systems running inside their organisations than peers in the US, UK and Japan, according to new Fujitsu research.

The Fujitsu AI Confidence Research found nearly 70% of Australian leaders are not fully confident in the AI their business relies on (vs 53% in the US and 61% in the UK and Japan). Fujitsu says this confidence gap risks slowing productivity, innovation and speed-to-market as organisations scale AI beyond pilots.

The research surveyed at least 400 senior business and technology leaders at large enterprises (1,000+ employees) across each country: Australia, the US, UK and Japan.

In Australia, confidence lagged across multiple dimensions of AI readiness and use, including data quality, data readiness and AI governance practices.

Across markets, leaders who reported higher confidence in their AI were also more likely to report positive outcomes. In the US sample, 70% said AI improved their ability to develop new products and services, and 68% said AI boosted productivity and internal efficiencies. In Australia, those figures drop to just 50% and 46% respectively.

Mat Franklin, Managing Partner Oceania - Uvance Wayfinders at Fujitsu said: "Australia’s ability to compete globally depends on how well we trust and use powerful AI systems. The Fujitsu AI Confidence Research shows that while Australian businesses have the ambition, an AI confidence gap is holding them back. You can't innovate effectively if you don't trust the tools you’re deploying."

What this means for CEOs and Boards

As AI moves into core operations (finance, customer, software, HR and supply chain), confidence becomes a Board issue: it affects risk exposure, investment decisions and how quickly benefits can be realised. Fujitsu says closing the trust gap starts with fundamentals: data quality, accountable governance, and clear decision rights for AI use.

Poor data quality and governance are undermining AI confidence

The Fujitsu AI Confidence Research points to data as a key reason for the confidence gap. In Australia, 55% of leaders nominated “poor data quality” as the single biggest barrier to trusting the AI they have implemented - higher than the US (33%), UK (35%) and Japan (46%).

Australia also ranked last among the four countries on data readiness and AI governance practices - capabilities organisations rely on to deploy, monitor and scale AI with confidence.

"You can’t build trust in AI on a weak data foundation," Mat added. "Investing in data quality and establishing robust AI governance frameworks are the prerequisites for any organisation that wants to fully leverage leading global AI models."

Building a strong foundation is Australia’s biggest AI opportunity

Fujitsu says the findings highlight a practical opportunity for Australian organisations: strengthen the data and governance foundations required to operationalise AI at scale.

Recognising that "poor data quality" is the biggest barrier to trust, Australian organisations are now outpacing global peers in the race to fix it. The research shows that 62% of Australian leaders have advanced strategies for "data readiness", initiatives to improve data quality, structure, and accessibility, positioning them ahead of Japan (56%), the UK (51%), and the US (43%).

Similarly, Australia is ahead in establishing formal “AI governance and ethics” frameworks, with 61% reporting advanced capabilities, compared to 57% in Japan and 48% in both the UK and US.

Peter Carr, Technology Analyst and Advisor at Councilio said: "A policy on paper is only the first step. Boards need to establish independent governance systems and strict decision-making guardrails. And this often requires the specialised expertise of strategic consultants like Uvance Wayfinders to bridge the gap between policy and execution. If we cannot clearly audit how an AI system arrives at an output, we should not allow it to run core business operations."

"The good news is the problem of low AI confidence can be solved," Mat said. "By focusing on data quality and governance, Australian organisations can build the confidence to catch up and even lead on the global stage. This is how we turn an AI productivity crisis into a national opportunity."

Date: 10 September, 2026
City: Sydney, Australia
Company: Fujitsu Limited