Digital Trust Deficit Costs Firms Revenue as AI Adoption Accelerates
Event summary
- Thales' 2026 Digital Trust Index surveyed over 15,000 consumers, business partners, and IT decision-makers across 13 industries.
- 57% of consumers reported login issues in the past year, and 68% abandoned or switched providers due to slow performance or complicated sign-up processes.
- Only 23% of consumers trust companies to use AI responsibly with their data, despite 93% of IT leaders planning AI initiatives.
- The banking sector leads in consumer trust at 57%, significantly outpacing other industries like retail (10%) and social media (9%).
- 66% of business partners admit to sharing or borrowing credentials due to slow provisioning, creating security risks.
The big picture
Thales' Digital Trust Index highlights a critical disconnect between the rapid adoption of digital technologies, particularly AI, and the corresponding levels of consumer trust. This lack of trust is translating into tangible business consequences, including customer churn and increased operational risk. The banking sector's lead in trust underscores the importance of prioritizing security and transparency in managing sensitive data, a lesson other industries must heed to remain competitive in an increasingly digital landscape.
What we're watching
- AI Governance
- The widening gap between AI adoption and consumer trust will force organizations to prioritize transparency and accountability in AI deployments to avoid further erosion of confidence.
- Authentication Modernization
- The significant disparity between IT leaders recognizing the importance of passkeys and their actual implementation suggests a near-term risk of security breaches and regulatory scrutiny.
- Partner Security
- The prevalence of credential sharing among business partners indicates a systemic vulnerability that, if left unaddressed, will continue to expose organizations to increased security risk and potential revenue loss.
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