Gartner® CDAO Agenda Survey 2026: Analytics Use Cases Deliver the Highest ROI on AI

D&A leaders heading into 2026 face the same strategic question: where should AI investment go to drive real business value? The Gartner CDAO Agenda Survey 2026 — based on responses from 502 D&A leaders — answers it directly.

According to the report:

“Analytics use cases deliver the highest business value, with AI adoption leading to up to a 42% increase in outcomes like revenue growth, cost savings, stakeholder satisfaction, and competitive advantage. Data management use cases follow, with up to a 33% increase, while code generation trails at 27%. These results clearly show that prioritizing AI for analytics, rather than just for code generation, is the most effective way to drive meaningful business impact.”

Yet most organizations are not there yet:

“Almost 90% of survey respondents have not adopted the full suite of AI capabilities in their D&A delivery model, with the least adoption in AI for governance, data quality, and setting up infrastructure.”

Authored by Gartner analysts JC Martel, Michael Gabbard, and Adam Ronthal, the report sets out the full pattern of AI adoption across D&A workflows and the actions Gartner recommends D&A leaders take next.

What we think you’ll discover:

• Why AI for analytics drives a 42% business value lift while AI for data management trails at 33% and code generation at 27% — and the seven analytics use cases inside that top tier, including agentic analytics, autonomous decision-making, and business scenario simulation.
• The governance blind spot stalling 90% of D&A organizations — and why teams that involve AI governance in the delivery of AI-ready data are 3x more likely to achieve high-impact outcomes.
• Three Gartner Strategic Planning Assumptions for 2027–2028 covering dashboards, legacy applications, and D&A governance — plus the six actions Gartner advises CDAOs take now to avoid burning AI budget on the wrong quick wins.