Eighty-five per cent of professional services firms are piloting artificial intelligence. Just 17 per cent have embedded it into daily operations.
That gap—between ambition and execution—defines the AI landscape in 2026, according to research released Tuesday by iManage surveying 3,185 business and technology decision-makers across 26 countries. The study, conducted between September and October 2025, reveals a stark divide: organisations that built robust knowledge management foundations before chasing AI are pulling ahead on revenue growth, whilst peers remain trapped in perpetual pilot mode.
The winners aren’t the fastest experimenters.
They’re the firms that spent years governing documents, connecting data, and eliminating search friction. According to iManage’s findings, these knowledge-mature organisations are nearly twice as likely to report year-over-year revenue growth compared to less mature peers. They’re also twice as likely to deploy AI in client-facing tools—a critical advantage as 57 per cent of respondents say customers now influence their AI adoption strategy.
Among knowledge-mature firms, that figure jumps to 74 per cent.
“What this data shows is that AI success isn’t about who experiments fastest – it’s about who has done the foundational work,” said Laura Wenzel, Global Insights Director at iManage. “Organisations with mature knowledge environments are better positioned to deploy AI consistently, govern it responsibly, and earn trust from both clients and employees. Without that foundation, AI simply amplifies existing friction and risk.”
The friction is measurable. Despite 86 per cent of decision-makers expressing confidence in their ability to find and reuse knowledge, professionals still burn an average of 37 minutes per day searching for information. Multiply that across a 500-person firm and the productivity drain becomes existential—roughly 308 hours daily, or the equivalent of 38 full-time employees doing nothing but hunting for documents.
That’s the hidden cost of weak knowledge infrastructure.
Meanwhile, governance gaps are stalling progress across the sector. Nearly one-third of organisations surveyed reported experiencing a policy-impacting incident related to unregulated AI tools. Almost 30 per cent have delayed AI adoption entirely due to security concerns. The hesitation reflects a pragmatic reality: firms recognise that deploying AI atop chaotic, ungoverned document systems risks compounding existing problems rather than solving them.
The research builds on iManage’s Knowledge Work Maturity Model, a framework assessing how effectively organisations govern, connect, and activate knowledge across people, processes, and technology. Findings substantiate that higher maturity levels consistently correlate with stronger business outcomes—regardless of industry or geography. The study spanned legal, accounting and tax, financial services, and asset management organisations.
Reena SenGupta, Executive Director at RSGi, was blunt about the implications. “This research confirms that investment in knowledge systems, architecture and AI is non-negotiable. Law firm strategy cannot be a wait and see, or be a second follower,” she said. “Competitive advantage is being won by the advanced knowledge organisations and now we have the data to prove it.”
The competitive advantage manifests in several ways. Knowledge-mature organisations are significantly more likely to report productivity improvements from AI-enabled workflows. They’re also more likely to view AI as enhancing roles rather than replacing them—57 per cent of all respondents said AI primarily enhances existing jobs, a figure that rises among mature firms.
Client demand is accelerating the divide. As buyers increasingly expect AI-powered services, firms without the infrastructure to deliver those capabilities reliably face a credibility problem. The study suggests that knowledge-mature organisations are moving from experimentation to confident, scalable adoption precisely because their systems can handle the governance, security, and integration requirements that AI demands.
Investment alone won’t close the gap. Seventy-two per cent of organisations plan to invest in a new document or knowledge management platform within the next two years, but iManage’s research shows that investment without strategy simply shifts the problem. Outcomes depend on having a trusted, governed foundation that enables AI to be used consistently across the business—not bolted onto fragmented systems as an afterthought.
The timing matters. By October 2025, when the survey fieldwork closed, the AI hype cycle had reached fever pitch across professional services. Every firm claimed to be “AI-enabled” or “exploring AI capabilities.” The iManage data exposes the reality beneath the marketing: most firms are stuck in endless pilots, unable to translate experimentation into everyday value.
What separates the 17 per cent from the 85 per cent isn’t access to technology. It’s the foundational work—often unglamorous, always essential—of building knowledge systems that actually function. Firms that invested in document governance, metadata standards, and search infrastructure years ago are now reaping returns. Those that skipped straight to AI are discovering that algorithms can’t fix poor data hygiene.
The gap will widen. As knowledge-mature organisations compound their advantages—better client tools, faster workflows, stronger trust—laggards will face mounting pressure to catch up. Yet catching up requires addressing foundational issues that take years to resolve, whilst simultaneously competing against rivals already deploying AI at scale.
For decision-makers, the benchmark provides a reference point. Firms can assess whether their current foundations will enable scale or compound risk in the year ahead. The answer, for most, will be uncomfortable.
iManage, founded over 30 years ago, serves more than one million professionals at 4,000 organisations globally. The company’s cloud-native platform focuses on document and email management, information protection, and knowledge leverage across professional services sectors.
The Knowledge Work 2026 Benchmark Report offers a sobering view of where professional services stands on AI adoption. The tipping point has arrived, but only a fraction of firms are positioned to capitalise. The rest remain trapped between ambition and infrastructure—experimenting endlessly whilst competitors pull ahead.
