iManage Has Released its Knowledge Work 2026 Benchmark Report
iManage has released its Knowledge Work 2026 Benchmark Report, a global study of 3,185 business and technology decision-makers across 26 countries, finding that professional services firms with mature knowledge management practices outperform peers in AI adoption, financial performance, and client trust.
The report, based on the company’s Knowledge Work Maturity Model, assesses how organizations govern, connect, and activate knowledge across people, processes, and technology. Findings collected in October 2025 show that higher levels of knowledge work maturity correlate with stronger business outcomes across industries and geographies.
While 85% of organizations surveyed are piloting, implementing, or using artificial intelligence tools, only 17% have embedded AI into daily operations, according to the report. The data points to a gap between experimentation and sustained operational impact, as researchers describe it.
Organizations with higher knowledge work maturity were nearly twice as likely as less mature peers to report year-over-year revenue growth. They were more likely to self-report profitability and stronger financial performance.
Customer demand is also influencing AI strategies. Overall, 57% of respondents said clients affect their AI adoption decisions, rising to 74% among knowledge-mature organizations. Those firms were also twice as likely to deploy AI in client-facing tools.
The report found governance challenges remain a barrier. Nearly one-third of respondents said their organizations experienced a policy-impacting incident involving unregulated AI tools, and almost 30% reported delaying AI adoption due to security concerns.
Most respondents, 57%, said AI is primarily enhancing existing roles rather than replacing jobs. Knowledge-mature organizations were more likely to report productivity gains from AI-enabled workflows.
Despite 86% of decision-makers expressing confidence in their ability to find and reuse knowledge, professionals spend an average of 37 minutes per day searching for information, according to the study.
“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. She said organizations with mature knowledge environments are better positioned to deploy AI consistently and govern it responsibly.
Reena SenGupta, executive director at RSGI, said the findings underscore the need for law firms to invest in knowledge systems and AI infrastructure to remain competitive.
The report also found that 72% of organizations plan to invest in a new document or knowledge management platform within the next two years. However, it cautions that technology investment alone does not guarantee results without established governance frameworks.
The Knowledge Work 2026 Benchmark Report is intended to serve as a global benchmark for organizations evaluating their readiness to scale AI adoption.
