Scaling Agentic Ai Means Trusting Your Data - Here's What Most Cdos Are Investing In

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• Half of agentic AI adopters mention information value and retrieval issues arsenic deployment barriers.
• 76% of information leaders study that governance has not kept gait pinch nan emergence successful AI use.
• 86% scheme to summation finance successful information guidance to support AI growth.

A new survey of 600 main information officers (CDOs) recovered that 69% of companies pinch revenues of $500M+ are utilizing generative AI successful their operations, up from 48% successful 2025. Although AI take is increasing, nan study recovered that information and AI literacy are a concern. Of nan CDOs surveyed, 75% judge their workforce needs upskilling successful information literacy, and 74% successful AI literacy to responsibly usage AI aliases AI outputs successful day-to-day operations. Improved information and AI literacy will summation AI take successful business.   

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The report, from Informatica, Wakefield Research, and Deloitte, noted that though accomplishment group is simply a challenge, spot successful nan information utilized to run AI models is growing: 65% of information leaders judge their labor spot nan information they are utilizing for AI. That said, without due AI literacy, labor whitethorn not beryllium capable to admit imaginable information shortcomings aliases mediocre quality. 

Governance is besides a imaginable obstacle to scaling AI take successful business, pinch astir three-quarters of information leaders acknowledging that their companies' visibility and governance person not kept gait pinch employees' usage of AI.

Here are immoderate cardinal findings from nan study conducted by Informatica, a Salesforce company.

The existent authorities of AI

Adoption of AI has reached 69% of businesses pinch revenues of $500M+, up from 48% successful 2025 and 45% successful 2024. In addition, 47% of companies person adopted agentic AI. This signals greater assurance successful information value and access, pinch 61% of CDOs noting that amended information makes it easier to adopt AI.

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Data literacy and AI literacy are challenges for businesses, pinch 50% of companies readying to usage agentic AI citing information value and entree arsenic awesome challenges to AI supplier adoption. In addition, nan immense mostly of businesses person not kept gait pinch visibility and governance regarding their employees' usage of AI. 

More companies will put successful information management, pinch 86% of CDOs reporting accrued investments successful 2026-2027. The greater request for investments successful information value and guidance includes improving information privateness and information (43%), improving information and AI governance (41%), and improving information and AI literacy (39%). 

Scaling take of generative and agentic AI 

The CDO study recovered that agentic AI take has reached 47% pinch an further 31% of companies readying to adopt successful nan adjacent 12 months. Of larger companies, 54% person already adopted agentic AI, versus 44% of smaller companies (less than 5,000 employees). The apical challenges for take of agentic AI are information value (50%), information concerns (43%), and deficiency of agentic AI expertise (42%). 

The superior benefits of adopting agentic AI successful business see enhanced customer acquisition (29%), improved business intelligence, analytics, and decision-making (28%), compliance pinch regulatory standards (27%), and enhanced worker collaboration and workflows (26%).

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Scaling take of agentic AI from aviator to accumulation is each astir assurance successful data. Better information is simply a captious facet for AI success. A deficiency of information reliability tin beryllium a obstruction to moving initiatives from aviator to accumulation for organizations that person already adopted aliases scheme to adopt AI. Fifty-seven percent position information reliability arsenic a cardinal obstruction to moving much projects from aviator to production. Data leaders are taking nan pursuing steps to amended nan reliability of nan information utilized for AI: 

• Improving workflows astir information and AI
• Increasing investments successful improving information quality 
• Investing successful information and metadata postulation and management

Employee spot is cardinal to nan take and scaling of AI 

A mostly of information leaders (65%) judge that their labor spot nan information that they person and are utilizing for AI. For companies utilizing agentic AI, assurance successful nan information is moreover higher: 74% judge astir aliases each of their statement trusts nan information they usage for AI efforts.

The much you usage AI solutions, nan much apt you are to amended some information value and access. But if information and AI literacy are a situation and consequence for businesses, should we beryllium comfortable pinch our employees' precocious grade of spot successful nan information they use? Should a precocious level of spot beryllium a origin for concern? Can an worker admit mediocre value aliases untrustworthy data? 

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CDOs judge their labor request some information literacy (75%) and AI literacy (74%) upskilling to responsibly usage AI aliases its outputs. So immoderate of that precocious spot successful AI whitethorn stem from a deficiency of knowing of what constitutes high-quality information successful nan first place.

Data leaders will put much successful ensuring they person value information for AI. Data leaders (41%) will summation their investments successful information guidance successful 2026, improving information and AI governance arsenic a apical need. Nearly half of information leaders are adapting existing devices for AI governance, pinch 30% investing successful discrete devices and 22% processing caller tools. The mostly of information leaders (75%) astatine companies expanding their existing governance devices person already adopted generative AI solutions, compared pinch 65% of companies processing caller governance tools.

Investing successful information guidance is astir universally a privilege for information leaders -- 86% scheme to summation their investments successful 2026. Investments successful information guidance are driven by nan truth that information challenges frighten nan successful take of AI, including information privateness and protection, information quality, regulatory compliance, and nan governance of unstructured data. 

Data leaders are besides looking for their exertion business partners and vendors to thief them amended information readiness for AI. Data leaders judge they'll request aggregate vendor partners to meet their information and AI goals -- nan mean number of vendor partners successful 2026 was 7 for information guidance and 8 for AI management. The balancing enactment for information leaders is recognizing that utilizing much vendor partners will adhd complexity and slow scalability. 

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Last twelvemonth was a turning constituent for AI adoption, and 2026 will beryllium nan twelvemonth of scaling generative and agentic AI solutions successful business. Trust must beryllium nan number 1 halfway worth for businesses becoming agentic businesses. Successful AI take and standard require reliable, high-quality information and beardown governance for privateness and information of nan data. Data leaders besides urgently punctual america that information and AI literacy is simply a cardinal area of investment, ensuring their labor are capable to usage AI astir efficaciously while maintaining nan highest level of trustworthiness and affirmative outcomes for each stakeholders. 

To study much astir nan CDO Insights 2026 report, you tin visit here.