63 percent of knowledge workers report wasting time searching for information at work. Organizations with formal knowledge management practices record 12 percent lower turnover and 41 percent shorter training times for new hires. Data track adoption rates, market expansion, and performance gains in enterprise settings.
Key Takeaways
- 53% of workers say it is very or extremely important to their work to be able to find the right information quickly (year: 2021).
- 64% of enterprises use some form of AI-enabled search for enterprise information (year: 2023).
- 58% of surveyed IT leaders reported that knowledge sharing improves the speed of problem resolution (year: 2020).
- $1.6 billion global knowledge management software market size in 2022 (year: 2022).
- $7.7 billion global enterprise search market size in 2023 (year: 2023).
- $8.0 billion global knowledge management (KM) tools market size in 2024 (year: 2024).
- 40% decrease in repeat contacts after knowledge base improvements (year: 2021).
- 41% reduction in training time for new hires when internal knowledge repositories are available (year: 2020).
- Companies with strong knowledge management practices see a 12% improvement in employee retention compared with those that do not (2020).
- Organizations using formal knowledge management report 12% lower employee turnover than those that do not (year: 2020).
- The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53 requires controls for managing organizational knowledge and documented information within information security programs (revision 5 published 2020).
- NIST SP 800-171 requires organizations to protect controlled unclassified information (CUI) and emphasizes documented processes and information management as part of compliance (revision 2 published 2020).
- 90% of enterprise AI projects are expected to require data and knowledge preparation, including knowledge curation (year: 2023).
- By 2025, Gartner forecasts that conversational AI will be used by 25% of enterprise organizations for knowledge retrieval (year: 2025 forecast).
- 2024 saw a continued shift toward AI-powered knowledge assistants, with 63% of organizations adopting or piloting AI search within enterprise settings (year: 2024).
AI-enabled search and knowledge sharing cut information time and improve retention, boosting enterprise performance.
Related reading
01 · Category
User Adoption6 stats
01
53% of workers say it is very or extremely important to their work to be able to find the right information quickly (year: 2021).
02
64% of enterprises use some form of AI-enabled search for enterprise information (year: 2023).
03
58% of surveyed IT leaders reported that knowledge sharing improves the speed of problem resolution (year: 2020).
04
54% of organizations report measuring knowledge management success (year: 2021).
05
63% of knowledge workers say they waste time searching for information at work (2021).
06
The World Bank reports that firms in high-income economies are more likely to use ICT-enabled knowledge and communication tools; for example, their Enterprise Surveys capture ICT usage indicators used to assess capabilities (Enterprise Surveys methodology and indicators).
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption is being driven by a clear need for faster, easier access to knowledge, with 63% of knowledge workers saying they waste time searching for information and 53% saying finding the right info quickly is very or extremely important to their work.
02 · Category
Market Size9 stats
01
$1.6 billion global knowledge management software market size in 2022 (year: 2022).
02
$7.7 billion global enterprise search market size in 2023 (year: 2023).
03
$8.0 billion global knowledge management (KM) tools market size in 2024 (year: 2024).
04
$5.0 billion global AI for customer service market size in 2023, often applied via knowledge bases and assisted support (year: 2023).
05
$3.1 billion global document management market size in 2022 (year: 2022), a common enterprise knowledge infrastructure category.
06
$11.8 billion global collaboration software market size in 2023 (year: 2023), including knowledge sharing in digital workplaces.
07
$30.5 billion global business process management market size in 2022 (year: 2022), supporting codified process knowledge.
08
$16.6 billion global knowledge management software market size in 2030 (forecast, year: 2030).
09
$12.5 billion global enterprise social network market size in 2022 (year: 2022), used for knowledge sharing communities.
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
The market for knowledge management is expanding rapidly across adjacent tools and platforms, with global knowledge management software growing from $1.6 billion in 2022 to a forecast of $16.6 billion by 2030, and similar momentum seen in enterprise search at $7.7 billion in 2023 and collaboration software reaching $11.8 billion in 2023.
03 · Category
Performance Metrics5 stats
01
40% decrease in repeat contacts after knowledge base improvements (year: 2021).
02
41% reduction in training time for new hires when internal knowledge repositories are available (year: 2020).
03
Companies with strong knowledge management practices see a 12% improvement in employee retention compared with those that do not (2020).
04
In the ISO 30414 human capital reporting framework, organizations can measure learning and development indicators to evaluate knowledge and capability building programs; adoption is tracked via reported KPIs (framework publication, version updated 2018).
05
In a peer-reviewed study, effective knowledge management practices (including knowledge sharing and codification) were associated with improved organizational performance; authors reported statistically significant positive relationships in a cross-industry sample (2017).
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
For the performance metrics angle, the data shows that strong knowledge management can deliver measurable outcomes such as a 41% reduction in new hire training time in 2020 and a 40% decrease in repeat contacts in 2021, while also supporting broader indicators like a 12% boost in employee retention for organizations with effective practices.
More related reading
04 · Category
Cost Analysis4 stats
01
Organizations using formal knowledge management report 12% lower employee turnover than those that do not (year: 2020).
02
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Special Publication 800-53 requires controls for managing organizational knowledge and documented information within information security programs (revision 5 published 2020).
03
NIST SP 800-171 requires organizations to protect controlled unclassified information (CUI) and emphasizes documented processes and information management as part of compliance (revision 2 published 2020).
04
Forrester found that enterprise customers reduced time spent finding information by 17% after implementing content and search improvements (2022 study).
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost perspective, organizations that implement formal knowledge management can cut employee turnover by 12%, while search and content improvements can reduce time spent finding information by 17%, showing measurable savings alongside the compliance-oriented knowledge management requirements outlined in NIST guidance published in 2020.
05 · Category
Industry Trends12 stats
01
90% of enterprise AI projects are expected to require data and knowledge preparation, including knowledge curation (year: 2023).
02
By 2025, Gartner forecasts that conversational AI will be used by 25% of enterprise organizations for knowledge retrieval (year: 2025 forecast).
03
2024 saw a continued shift toward AI-powered knowledge assistants, with 63% of organizations adopting or piloting AI search within enterprise settings (year: 2024).
04
83% of executives believe that improved knowledge access will be a key driver of competitive advantage (year: 2022).
05
By 2026, Gartner forecasts that 50% of knowledge workers will rely on AI-generated summaries in their workflows (year: 2026 forecast).
06
34% of organizations report that knowledge management is critical to reducing customer support costs (2022).
07
70% of surveyed customer service leaders say self-service (often powered by knowledge bases) reduces the workload on contact centers (2021).
08
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that employment in management occupations was 3.5 million in 2022; these roles are major users of enterprise knowledge systems for information retrieval and decision support.
09
The U.S. National Center for Education Statistics reports that in 2022, 13.1 million students were enrolled in postsecondary institutions in the U.S., increasing organizational demand for knowledge reuse and training materials across institutions and employers.
10
ISO 22301:2019 (business continuity management) emphasizes business continuity knowledge and documented information as required elements for maintaining organizational resilience (standard publication year 2019).
11
ISO 9001:2015 requires organizations to maintain documented information as evidence of conformity; this directly supports codified knowledge management in quality systems (standard publication year 2015).
12
The U.S. Department of Labor’s O*NET database lists 2023 occupational tasks that frequently reference “searching for information” and “using knowledge,” reflecting how knowledge retrieval skills are common across jobs (data updated regularly; accessed via O*NET).
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry Trends in knowledge management make one message clear: organizations are racing to operationalize AI for knowledge access, with 63% adopting or piloting AI search in 2024 and Gartner expecting conversational AI to reach 25% of enterprises for knowledge retrieval by 2025.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Min-ji Park. (2026, February 13). Knowledge Management Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/knowledge-management-statistics
MLA
Min-ji Park. "Knowledge Management Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/knowledge-management-statistics.
Chicago
Min-ji Park. 2026. "Knowledge Management Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/knowledge-management-statistics.
Sources & references
36 datasets cited across this report · attribution is report-level
+13 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)