Video produced by Steve Nathans-Kelly
In this clip from Data Summit 2026, John O’Brien, Radiant Advisors’ principal advisor and industry analyst, breaks down survey findings from the 2026 AI Market Study conducted by DBTA and Radiant Advisors to reveal what organizations in product have that pilots do not and the gaps typically found between organizations enjoying AI success and those that can’t seem to get there.
“AI pilots should not become production and that’s a good thing,” O’Brien said.
What organizations in production have that pilots do not include a committed AI budget over $100 K, fully traceable AI model outputs, automated AI-readiness assessment, and more, O’Brien noted.
“If you want to do this you have to look at the inputs, you have to look at the outputs of this,” O’Brien said. “That traceability is what we need to verify in order to trace it … to get to a level we can rely on."
Looking at the survey data, you find that a little governance is better than none, O’Brien noted. It’s about this agent, doing this workflow, in this context.
“Operational governance is enough to get you going,” O’Brien said.
The annual Data Summit conference returned to Boston, May 6-7, 2026, with pre-conference workshops on May 5.
Videos and clips of presentations from Data Summit 2026 are now available for on-demand viewing on the DBTA YouTube channel.
Save the date: Data Summit 2027 is returning to Boston on May 12 -13, with pre-conference workshops on May 11. More information about Data Summit 2027 is coming soon.