2026 The KMWorld AI 100: The Impact of AI on KM is Inescapable

While AI holds the promise of radically transforming KM, human oversight takes on intensified responsibilities for ensuring the knowledge provided is accurate, timely, and relevant as well as guarding against violations of privacy and proactively securing sensitive data.Value is the key to adopting any technology, and AI tools are no different. AI-enabled KM provides opportunities for KM to shine and for knowledge managers to prove their value to their organizations.

AI 100 Trailblazer: Upland RightAnswers - Transforming enterprise knowledge into trusted AI answers

Purpose-built for complex, high-volume environments, RightAnswers empowers teams to resolve issues up to 4x faster with 49% faster search speed, achieve 80% AI-generated search response accuracy, and scale operations without increasing headcount through a proven combination of KCS-aligned workflows and next-generation capabilities including Gen Answers and RightAnswers X. 

AI 100 Trailblazer: Openstream.ai

The Eva™ platform powers a growing portfolio of Operational AI solutions, from Collaborative Agentic AI systems for high-stakes knowledge work to AI Virtual Agents, AI Voice Agents, and Digital Humans for customer and employee engagement across voice, vision, gesture, and text.

AI 100 Trailblazer: CrafterQ - The Future of Knowledge is Conversational

At CrafterQ, we believe the future of digital experiences is conversational. AI agents will become a new layer across websites, applications, documentation, and customer experiences, helping people discover information, solve problems, purchase products and make decisions more effectively.

AI 100 Trailblazer: KMS Lighthouse — Advancing Enterprise Knowledge with GenAI and Agentic AI

By combining deeply governed generative AI with agent-driven execution, KMS Lighthouse enables organizations to move beyond passive knowledge access toward intelligent, outcome-driven knowledge operations.

AI 100 Trailblazer: Shelf - Knowledge and Data-First AI for the Agentic Enterprise

Built on a layered architecture, Shelf delivers agentic experiences across chat, voice, and email, orchestrates how agents reason and act through CortexAI, and scales Super Agents across contact-center and back-office workflows.

AI 100 Trailblazer: eGain - The Trusted Knowledge Platform for AI and Humans

Enterprises choose the eGain AI Knowledge Hub—available as a full-stack solution that can be configured in days or assembled to spec using APIs, SDKs, and MCPs on the eGain Composer platform to ensure a governed, compliant content foundation.

KM and IT Find Collaboration Productive

IT plays a role in providing a port of entry for customer service solutions and for integrating them with the various repositories that form the knowledgebase. After that point, most KM solutions can be configured and managed by subject matter experts. But the infrastructure on which they are built, whether SaaS or on-prem, must provide the capacity and speed required to deliver their potential.

KMWorld 100 Companies That Matter in Knowledge Management 2026

Companies on this list are wonderful examples of how their products expand the power of KM in changing knowledge environments. They stand out in the KM field, and we applaud their accomplishments. As always, the list is meant to generate interest and to spark discussion. Let us know what you think, and alert us to anything we might have missed.

Securing Your Internal Knowledge Amidst Shadow AI

The pervasiveness of advanced ML models, as well as their effectiveness for increasing productivity, has multiplied the difficulty in securing internal knowledge. Organizations cannot afford to forsake the staples of data access governance,which include data discovery, data classification, access control policy authoring and implementation, monitoringand auditing for regulatory compliance, data privacy, and data security.

Impact of AI on KM Strategy: A Two-Way Street

AI's impact on KM strategy is omnipresent and includes recognizing its potential, particularly for enhancing existing knowledgebases and automating existing processes, while acknowledging the critical role of accurate, clean data to which organizations have access. Consider it a two-way street when setting organizational strategies.

The Next Edge in Knowledge Management: KM for the Modern Workforce and the Era of AI

Traditional KM has always recognized that the most valuable knowledge is not just stored in documents or databases, but exchanged through conversations, mentorship, and collaboration. It's the wisdom that walks out the door when someone retires, the lessons learned from past successes and failures, and the expertise that enables teams to solve problems faster and innovate with confidence. Today, however, the landscape has shifted. We have more hybrid teams, distributed expertise, and the continued rise of AI.

Knowledge Automation: The End of Manual Knowledge Management - eGain

Enterprise AI deployments are only as good as the knowledge that feeds them. Knowledge Managers relying on manual KM processes will find themselves unable to keep pace with the demands of AI-powered customer engagement. Knowledge Automation provides the solution—a continuously optimized, trusted knowledge layer powering both human agents and AI.

AI is only as powerful as the knowledge behind it - Upland RightAnswers

AI must operate within clear guardrails, supported by human oversight and defined governance processes. When knowledge is reviewed, versioned, and owned, AI becomes a trusted accelerator rather than a potential risk. Organizations that embrace human-in-the-loop governance are better positioned to innovate confidently while maintaining control.

KMWorld Readers' Choice Award Winners 2025

KM is about people and their ability to capture, organize, share, and make actionable knowledge. KM relies on technologies that can enable this core mission. Congratulations to the KMWorld Readers' Choice Award winners, and many thanks to all of you who submitted nominations and took the time to vote.

KMWorld Leader Group for 2025

While our Readers' Choice Awards honor the top companies in each of the categories, we've expanded this year's coverage to include a supplementary list we're calling the Leader Group that showcases the broader landscape of exceptional KM solutions available to organizations today. So much excellent work is being done, and done quickly, given the rapid changes in technology.

Readers' Choice Awards 2025 - eGain: Accelerating Knowledge Creation and Curation while Improving Search Success

eGain providers rich technology: content management, workflows, profiled content access, intent inference, search methods, generated instant answers, guided help, analytics, pre-built connectors to existing systems, and much more, powered by hybrid AI, including agentic and generative AI, ML, and reasoning.

Readers' Choice Awards 2025 - Stravito: From Insight to Action— How Stravito Is Powering Faster, Smarter Consumer Decisions

By blending AI with human expertise, Stravito is evolving from simplifying searching for knowledge to shaping smarter, consumer-led strategies.

LLMs for the Rest of Us

LLMs are rapidly becoming pervasive across a wide range of use cases, both for individuals and SMBs. The underlying technology is complex, but using them is just a matter of writing your first prompt. With some practice and the right model, you can end up with a powerful tool that enhances your productivity in numerous ways.

2025 KM Leaders Circle: KMS Lighthouse - Transforming static data into dynamic, actionable insights

Empowering enterprises to automate knowledge delivery, reduce operational costs, and elevate customer experiences.