Based on responses from 154 general counsel and expert interviews across the UK, France and Germany, it is clear that AI adoption has outpaced governance, exposing organisations to operational, legal and reputational risk. The pace of AI adoption is not slowing down. To keep Europe on the path to responsible AI, better governance needs to be prioritised at board level, and more guidance should be made available from government and specialised private companies. The most important actions for enterprise leadership to take are to move from abstract principles to operational safeguards for AI and the recommendations provided here provide some first steps to do so.