DataCamp, the leading platform for data and AI skill building, today released its 2026 State of Data & AI Literacy Report based on a survey of 517 US and UK business leaders conducted in partnership with YouGov. The findings show that while leaders increasingly consider data and AI literacy foundational to business performance, on par with skills like writing, most admit their organizations lack the capabilities needed to meet those expectations.
Data and AI Literacy Seen as a Driver of Performance, and a Risk If Ignored
Sixty percent of leaders surveyed said their organizations had internal skill gaps when it came to AI and cited concerns that a lack of data and AI literacy could lead to slower rates of innovation, poor decision making and reduced competitiveness. At the same time, expectations for measurable performance gains continue to rise:
- These skills are viewed as core capabilities. 88% of respondents rated basic data literacy skills as important or very important, on par with their value of key skills like writing (86%), project management (83%) and delivering presentations (81%).
- The importance of AI literacy continues to grow in the workplace. AI literacy was seen as the most important skill in the workplace, with over half of all leaders (57%) reporting that AI literacy skills in the workforce have become more important in the last year.
- Leaders see data- and AI-literate employees as their highest performers. 76% of respondents agree that data-literate employees outperform their peers. Leaders most commonly expect AI-literate employees to be 10-20% more productive.
Skill Gaps Leave ROI on the Table
Despite widespread consensus on the strategic importance of data and AI literacy, approximately half of business leaders report significant skill gaps within their organization. DataCamp sees a key hurdle in closing these gaps is the lack of structured training programs to address them combined with traditional approaches that fail to deliver:
- Less than half of leaders say their organizations provide basic data or AI literacy training.
- Only one in three leaders report having mature, organization-wide data and AI upskilling programs at their organization.
- Less than a third of leaders said their organizations had mature data and AI literacy upskilling programs, citing that current learning resources are too passive, difficult to apply, and insufficiently connected to real-world applications and workflows.
DataCamp’s survey saw a direct correlation between organizations with mature data and AI literacy upskilling programs and those seeing meaningful return on investment (ROI) from AI. Twenty-one percent of leaders surveyed said their organizations had seen significant positive ROI from AI investments, a figure that doubled to 42% when looking at organizations with mature data and AI literacy upskilling programs. A meaningful share of respondents overall (17%) still say they have yet to see positive return on investment (ROI) from AI, but this number fell to 11% among organizations with mature upskilling programs.
“Companies are investing aggressively in AI tools without making the same investment in workforce capability. Make no mistake: that disconnect will limit the return on AI,” said Jonathan Cornelissen, co-founder and CEO at DataCamp. “Closing this gap at scale requires more than incremental spending on traditional training. It demands a shift from passive, one-off courses to embedded, role-relevant learning that turns data and AI from tools into daily habits.”
DataCamp’s 2026 State of Data & AI Literacy Report explores this core challenge, where capability gaps persist, and what it will take to build workforce data and AI literacy at an enterprise scale. The report also includes insights on how organizations are adopting AI technology, adapting to the data and AI skills gap, and future-proofing their workforces.
Download the full report here or join the live insider session with the report authors to discuss the results and ask live questions.
