The 2026 State of Validation study captures insights from 614 validation professionals worldwide. 81% of life sciences organizations now use or plan to use AI in validation — yet 55% rate AI risk in GxP as High or Very High, and 36% have limited or no familiarity with current AI regulatory guidance. This whitepaper maps the gap between adoption and readiness, and delivers a practical framework for building governed, traceable, inspection-ready AI into your validation operations.