What #PSR25 revealed about the future of privacy and AI governance

The Transcend team has just returned from this year's IAPP Privacy. Security. Risk. 2025 in San Diego, where more than 2,500 privacy, security, and governance professionals gathered to explore the next era of data protection and AI governance. These were our takeaways.

This was the year AI governance moved from theory to implementation, and enforcement began catching up to innovation. Across two packed days, #PSR25 made it clear: the future of privacy depends on responsible automation, measurable governance, and trust that scales.

From packed sessions to one-on-one conversations at the Transcend booth, the same themes surfaced again and again: a hunger for more automation, better service, and the confidence to move beyond legacy tools that no longer fit modern privacy challenges.

Key insights from ‘Who’s Afraid of an AI Agent?”

Theme: The real challenge isn’t deploying AI, it’s governing it responsibly.

In “Who’s Afraid of an AI Agent?”, Transcend's President Kate Parker led a dynamic discussion with Laura Caroli and Alesya Nasimova about how organizations can strike the right balance between innovation and oversight.

Key takeaways:

• Human-in-the-loop tension: Maintaining meaningful human oversight while enabling AI-driven efficiencies.
• Continuous governance: AI systems evolve; your governance and controls must evolve with them.
• Cross-functional partnership: Effective AI oversight depends on alignment across privacy, security, and engineering.

After the panel, visitors to the Transcend booth asked how we approach AI governance, and the answer is: responsibly. We enable enterprises to use AI with confidence, providing the infrastructure, visibility, and controls that help teams innovate safely and at scale. Just as importantly, we help organizations govern and safeguard the data that powers their AI initiatives, ensuring innovation happens responsibly.

Key insights from ‘Texas as America’s New Privacy Watchdog’

Theme: The privacy enforcement landscape is maturing fast, and state attorneys general are leading the charge.

This session, led by Transcend's Field CPO Ron De Jesus, featured Tyler Bridegan and Shelby Dolen. Together, they unpacked how state AGs are driving the next wave of privacy enforcement.

Key takeaways:

• Multi-state coordination and enforcement readiness are accelerating.
• Regulators are becoming more technically sophisticated and hands-on.
• Documentation and proactive engagement matter more than ever.
  

What we heard in the exhibit hall

At the Transcend booth, one message came through loud and clear: the privacy community is ready for change but wants confidence in the switch.

Key insights from attendees:

• Frustration with legacy tools, manual workflows, poor support, and lack of flexibility.
• Concern about the effort required to migrate despite dissatisfaction.
• Curiosity about how Transcend’s automation and service model reduces that friction.

Teams are ready for a better privacy solution, but worried that switching platforms will be painful. Having guided hundreds of successful migrations, we’ve refined the process to make it faster, simpler, and more reliable.

Check out our Definitive Switching Guide for a quick look at how we help teams make the transition from other tools to Transcend with confidence.

Transcend’s POV

The next phase of privacy isn’t about more dashboards; it’s about trust you can operationalize.

From AI governance to regulatory enforcement, PSR 2025 underscored one clear truth: privacy programs must evolve from reactive to resilient.

That means:

• Bridging AI governance with regulatory readiness so teams can innovate without fear.
• Turning manual work into automated, auditable workflows that scale with the business.
• Building privacy operations that strengthen trust, inside and outside the organization.

Whether you’re navigating AI governance or transitioning from a legacy privacy tool, the goal remains the same: stronger automation, deeper accountability, and a foundation of trust.

Missed us at PSR?

Let’s continue the conversation! Explore how Transcend helps privacy teams move from compliance to growth, from AI governance to automation, and everything in between.