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More than half of organisations, 56 per cent, say finding trustworthy and relevant data is a significant barrier to deploying artificial intelligence, according to figures from a global survey of 850 executives by Denodo.
The study, conducted by Arlington Research among executives and business decision-makers worldwide, also found that 66 per cent believe AI systems must have access to near real-time information if they are to be trusted.
Denodo, which describes itself as the AI data layer company, said the findings pointed to “a growing gap between AI ambition and AI readiness” as organisations look to adopt agentic AI systems that can move beyond generating insights to executing tasks and business processes autonomously.
According to the survey, 67 per cent of organisations struggle with AI data security and access controls, while 60 per cent report difficulties optimising performance for the intensive workloads required by large-scale AI deployments.
More than four in 10, or 43 per cent, draw on more than 400 separate data sources to support AI initiatives. Denodo said this created significant challenges around governance, security, performance and consistency.
The company said success with autonomous AI would depend not only on giving AI access to enterprise data but also on providing the trusted business context needed to interpret that data and use it correctly and appropriately.
“The research shows organisations recognise the importance of trusted, real-time data, but the next challenge goes beyond access,” said Dominic Sartorio, vice president of product marketing at Denodo.
“AI agents don’t simply need access to enterprise data. They need trusted business context that tells them what the data means, whether it can be trusted and how it should be used. Without that foundation, organisations will struggle to deploy AI that people can rely on.”
“The conversation around AI has largely focused on models and applications,” Sartorio added. “What this research shows is that data readiness has become the defining factor. Organisations that solve the trust challenge will be far better positioned to unlock the full potential of agentic AI.”
Denodo said organisations that want to move from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale deployment must focus on creating a trusted data foundation that provides governed, secure and real-time access to information across the business.
Denodo first released the AI Trust Gap Report, based on the Arlington Research study, in April. Its announcement at the time gave the same figures of 66 per cent on real-time data and 67 per cent on security and access controls.
The April announcement said 63 per cent of organisations cited identifying the most relevant and trustworthy data, or preparing it for consumption, as significant barriers to AI deployment. It put the share pulling from more than 400 original data sources at 42 per cent.
Sartorio said at the time: “AI is rapidly shifting from systems that merely answer questions to systems that take autonomous action, and this transition changes the data requirement entirely. When an AI agent triggers a business outcome, there is zero room for stale or ungoverned data.”
Denodo’s latest announcement did not include figures for individual countries.
In the UK, the Office for National Statistics reported in July that self-reported AI use among businesses with 10 or more employees had risen from around 12 per cent to around 35 per cent since late 2023. The ONS described adoption to date as relatively shallow, with the average number of AI technologies used per adopting business rising from around 1.4 to around 1.6. It said 41 per cent of those businesses reported no barriers to adoption.
Separate research from insurer Simply Business, released on Tuesday, found AI use among UK small business owners had risen from 22 per cent in 2025 to 47 per cent. Security and privacy concerns were the most commonly cited barrier, mentioned by 44 per cent of owners.
A PwC global survey reported in April found British firms were committing 2 per cent of revenue to AI, compared with an average of 5 per cent among leading companies worldwide, and ranked the UK 11th out of 19 countries.
