Ownership is accountability
Eleven percent of companies report no single AI owner; 30 percent at the technology seat, which runs the systems. Accountability for an agent's conduct follows ownership of its purchase, and the working question is per system: who approved it, who owns it, who answers for what it does.
Agent access is an unallocated liability
Two thirds of security leaders name it their top problem; the security seat holds a dedicated line in 24 percent of cases. Supplier terms often leave the customer bearing the risk of an agent's actions, and insurers are moving to exclude AI-agent losses. The liability is allocated by the contract and excluded by the policy unless counsel intervenes in both.
The contract is changing shape
Founders price by usage at 43 percent and outcome at 24, rising with each batch, and the founders adopting outcome pricing fastest sell to the CTO. Outcome pricing moves the definition of success into the agreement; usage pricing moves the bill to whoever configured the agent. Define the outcome by the seat that measures it; audit usage independently; take indemnity that survives an agent error.
Representations follow the optimistic seat
External statements about AI value are being made by the seat that expects payback fastest, and the finance seat disagrees by 28 points. Know which claims have been made and whose numbers support them.
What changes in October
The General Counsel Executive Forum, co-chaired by Louis Lehot of Foley & Lardner, carries the first legal instrument: agent liability ownership, vendor terms demanded, AI use policy, incidents escalated, contracts renegotiated.
Who should read it
Who should read it: General counsel, chief legal officers, and senior in-house lawyers drafting for AI purchases and preparing disclosure schedules.
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley. Its network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. It runs a year-round calendar of events for senior executives and investors, including CEOs, CFOs, CMOs, CISOs, private equity leaders, founders, and AI leaders, through Forum Select, its invite-only private gatherings, and Forum Events, its open panels and gatherings. Beyond events, Open Future Forum convenes peer groups and executive boards and publishes original research built on first-party survey and qualitative data from its executive network. The research program draws directly from those rooms.
Read the What the September data means for general counsel →
Open Future Forum is a global executive community founded in Silicon Valley, whose network reaches tens of thousands of executives and investors worldwide. Its research program, including the Executive AI Leverage Report and the role editions of the Enterprise AI Buying and Budget Index, is built on first-party survey data from executives attending Open Future Forum events.