An independent global study commissioned by an identity security vendor and conducted by International Data Corporation (IDC) has found a substantial gap between how organisations perceive their identity maturity and their actual preparedness for continuous, AI‑driven identity threats.
The research reveals that only 9% of surveyed organisations meet IDC’s criteria for “verified trust” — a model that applies continuous, contextual identity verification across human and machine interactions.
IDC defines verified trust as “a continuous assurance that every digital interaction, whether human or machine/AI agent, is tied to an independently verified identity and remains trusted over time.”
The model uses signals such as zero‑knowledge biometrics with liveness detection, device posture, behavioural intelligence and AI‑aware risk analysis to apply runtime controls to authorisation decisions rather than relying on one‑off authentication events.
The study surveyed 794 organisations worldwide and reported that enterprises meeting the verified trust criteria delivered material advantages versus their peers.
Measured improvements include a 51% higher customer registration conversion rate, 44% stronger compliance readiness, 43% lower fraud losses and 47% faster workforce onboarding time. The research describes these gains as statistically significant across core enterprise metrics.
“In today’s threat landscape, identity can no longer be treated as a single authentication event. In an AI‑mediated enterprise, every authorisation decision must be continuously verified, contextualised, and governed,” said Peter Barker, chief product officer at Ping Identity.
“This research confirms that organisations embracing continuous, contextual verification reduce risk while unlocking measurable business value. Verified trust is how enterprises close the gap between confidence and control in an AI‑driven world.” Peter Barker
IDC analysts highlighted a mismatch between perception and reality: 51% of organisations believe they lead their peers in establishing trusted digital identity, yet only 9% meet the verified trust threshold.
The report also contrasts leaders with early‑stage adopters: 69% of leaders verify 75–100% of trust flows compared with 16–19% of early adopters, and 94% of leaders operate at enterprise scale while many others remain in pilot phases.
Leaders were also considerably further ahead on passwordless technologies — biometrics, passkeys and digital wallets — at 80–83% adoption versus below 30% for starters.
“Verified trust is no longer a design choice — it’s the prerequisite for operating at scale in AI driven environments," said Emanuel Figueroa, senior research analyst at IDC. As AI increases autonomy and complexity, identity becomes the mechanism for control, accountability, and confidence.”
The report underscores that, as AI adoption grows, organisations should consider identity as a continuous control plane applying adaptive verification across customers, employees, partners and AI agents to manage risk, maintain compliance and preserve user experience.
