In its 2026 update on watchlist and adverse media monitoring solutions, Chartis Research provides an overview of a rapidly evolving vendor landscape shaped by advances in AI, broader datasets, and ongoing requirements for efficiency.
In this context, Moody’s is positioned by Chartis in the “category leaders” segment of its RiskTech Quadrant for adverse media monitoring solutions.
"Moody’s Category Leader placement in our 2026 Adverse Media Monitoring quadrant reflects the quality of its solution’s data methodology, workflow and analytics, and reporting and auditing capabilities. The solution includes 13,000 hand-selected data sources and 1,700 monitored lists, as well as customer-configurable inclusion/exclusion criteria and a matching methodology that combines rules-based logic, fuzzy matching and machine learning," says Sean O’Malley, Research Director at Chartis.
Chartis’ quadrant framework evaluates vendors across two key dimensions:
It provides a comparative view of how solutions align to different organizational needs and implementation strategies. The methodology does not identify a single “best” solution but highlights relative strengths across the market.
According to Chartis, vendors classified as category leaders are considered to demonstrate strength across a broad set of technological and performance capabilities, alongside a clear execution of strategy and innovation. Placement in this segment reflects both the scope of a firm’s solution and its overall market presence.
The 2026 report highlights several developments influencing the market. These include the growing use of AI and large language models (LLMs) to support workflow efficiency, improve transparency in search results, and potentially reduce false positives in screening processes.
In parallel, it says organizations are expanding the number and types of data sources used for monitoring, reflecting increasing expectations around coverage and contextual insight.
The report also notes that adverse media monitoring and watchlist screening capabilities are being applied beyond financial services, with adoption extending into areas like third-party risk management, supply chain monitoring and vendor analysis.
In the adverse media monitoring segment, Chartis identifies differentiating capabilities including the use of machine learning to help prioritize relevant results, aggregation of findings to support efficiency, and the use of generative AI to support reporting with references to underlying data sources.
Moody’s positioning as category leader sits within this market context, where providers are continuing to evolve their approaches to data orchestration, workflow design, and transparency in reporting.
“We're proud to be recognized by Chartis as a category leader. As risks become more interconnected, our customers are looking for both broad, connected data and AI capabilities designed to identify relevant signals rather than noise. We'll keep investing in connected intelligence and the AI-driven capabilities that brings this to life, helping our customers screen smarter and act with greater confidence.”
— Keith Berry, Head of Corporates, Moody’s.
For more information about Moody’s solutions for adverse media screening, please get in touch with the team any time. We would love to hear from you.