As Adoption Surges, Data Readiness Emerges as the Critical Bottleneck to Scale and ROI
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., May 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- 97 percent of organizations worldwide now report active AI initiatives, but only five percent say that their data is adequately ready to support them, according to a new AI Momentum Survey released today by Dun & Bradstreet. The survey results from Q1 and Q2 2026 show that AI adoption has reached an inflection point: 56 percent of organizations plan to increase AI investment over the next 12 months. At the same time, 60 percent of businesses now report at least some measurable ROI, including 24 percent reporting broad or strong returns.
"The vast majority of businesses are already seeing some return from AI, and that's a meaningful milestone," said Cayetano Gea-Carrasco, Chief Strategy Officer at Dun & Bradstreet. "But the survey is clear about what's holding organizations back. The constraint is no longer the model; it is whether AI can operate verified continuously refreshed business identity across systems. Without that, output remains probabilistic, and ROI stays uneven. What enterprises need now is a deterministic foundation for AI decision-making."
The survey suggests there is a structural gap in AI execution: while models can generate insights, they cannot reliably act without a consistent and verified understanding of the entities they operate on. These constraints are systemic, not incremental, and point to the need for a shared identity layer that resolves entities consistently across every system AI touches.
Key findings:
Adoption and investment are strong and accelerating:
- 97% of organizations report active AI initiatives
- 56% plan to increase AI investment in the next 12 months
- 30% are scaling AI into production
- 26% are operationalizing AI across multiple core processes
Returns are emerging, but remain uneven:
- 67% report seeing early signs or pockets of some ROI
- 20% report multiple projects delivering ROI
- 10% report strong ROI, with most organizations still generating partial or early-stage returns
Data and infrastructure improvements should enhance ROI:
- Only 5% say their data is fully ready for AI
- 50% cite limited data access as a leading obstacle
- 44% identify privacy and compliance risks
- 40% report data quality and integrity concerns
- 38% point to a lack of integration across systems
- 37% cite a shortage of skilled AI professionals
- 10% express high confidence in their ability to identify and mitigate AI-related risks
A Measurable Shift in Sentiment
Throughout 2025, most research showed that few enterprises were achieving meaningful financial returns from AI, despite widespread experimentation. D&B's survey results suggest that narrative is beginning to shift. Early returns are now far more common, with 60 percent of organizations reporting at least some measurable ROI, compared to the single-digit results that characterized the sentiment of much of 2025. In addition, the data readiness concern appears to be even more profound.
"AI agents will use enterprise platforms and data at a scale humans never did, continuously, across systems, customers, suppliers, and partners," said Gea-Carrasco. "That means every system an agent touches must agree on who the entity is. Our D-U-N-S® Number makes that possible. The companies that solve for verified business identity and context first will be the ones whose agents actually work."
The D&B AI Momentum Survey is a quarterly global study of 10,000 businesses across 32 countries that tracks the pace and progress of enterprise AI adoption, investment and outcomes over time.
About Dun & Bradstreet
Dun & Bradstreet provides the verified commercial identity foundation for enterprises to deploy AI at scale. The company originated the D‑U‑N‑S® Number in 1963, now the global standard for identifying commercial entities. Anchored by this identifier, the D&B Commercial Graph™ structures and connects business identity consistently across systems, enabling AI to operate on accurate, validated data. Since 1841, businesses of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to navigate change and accelerate growth. For more information, visit www.dnb.com.
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SOURCE Dun & Bradstreet, Inc.
