The biggest barrier to Customer AI projects usually isn’t technology. It’s politics. The data you need almost always exists somewhere in the enterprise, but it’s locked in silos — guarded by teams who see sharing as a threat or a distraction. Technical workarounds rarely fix this. Sponsorship does. This reality is addressed in (Customer AI Masterclass, Lesson 3.7).

Why Data Access Gets Stuck

• Ownership Battles – Marketing owns surveys, product owns telemetry, finance owns revenue. No one wants to give up control.

• Resource Excuses – Teams claim they’re too busy to prioritize integration or data pulls.

• Fear of Exposure – Some groups worry that shared data will reveal underperformance, so they quietly resist requests.

How Sponsorship Unlocks Data

Executive sponsorship shifts the question from “Can we share this data?” to “When will this data be delivered?” Once a senior leader makes Customer AI a strategic priority, silos weaken. Sponsorship reframes Customer AI as a revenue initiative rather than a technical side project. Accountability replaces negotiation.

Example in Practice

A SaaS firm needed product usage data to build churn models. The product team stalled for months, citing bandwidth issues. When the COO became sponsor, the conversation changed. Data was delivered in a week. Political walls fell because leadership set the stakes and clarified priorities.

Why This Matters for Leaders

Without sponsorship, Customer AI projects get bogged down in endless negotiations over access. With sponsorship, data flows quickly, pilots show results, and momentum builds. Executive support ensures Customer AI is not competing for scraps of attention but is positioned as a driver of retention, expansion, and NRR lift.

From Politics to Progress

Data politics—not data science—kills most Customer AI projects. Securing strong executive sponsorship is the single fastest way to break silos and accelerate results.

The Customer AI Masterclass shows CX, CS, and RevOps leaders how to frame Customer AI in financial terms that win sponsorship, break down silos, and unlock the data required to prove ROI.