- Nearly a third of UK business leaders (31%) cite limited understanding of usage costs as a key deployment challenge for AI agents.
- Companies with CEO accountability for AI decisions are more confident in their AI strategy, more likely to see business value and report stronger returns.
- 26% of UK companies now use AI as part of everyday work, up from 18% in Q1 2026.
KPMG’s latest Global AI Pulse report finds that as UK businesses move AI into everyday work, leaders are under increasing pressure to demonstrate value, with cost visibility emerging as a key barrier to scaling AI effectively.
The quarterly global survey of C-suite and senior business leaders, including 116 in the UK, found that over a quarter (26%) of UK companies now use AI as part of everyday work, up from 18% in Q1 2026. But as organisations expand their use of AI tools and agentic systems, managing usage costs is becoming both more complex and more critical to realising value.
Many organisations still lack a clear view of how spending accumulates. Almost a third of UK leaders (30%) struggle with usage-based costs, while 42% have only partial visibility into AI spending. One-third of leaders (33%) cite limited understanding of AI cost structures, including tokens, as a challenge to deploying AI agents.
The findings suggest that while adoption continues to accelerate, the next phase of AI will be defined less by experimentation and more by whether organisations can turn AI investment into measurable business outcomes.
Dr Leanne Allen, Head of AI at KPMG UK, said:
“AI is moving rapidly into everyday work, but scaling it responsibly brings a new set of challenges. Leaders now need to show not just that AI can be deployed, but that it can be trusted, financially controlled and clearly linked to value.
“Cost visibility is central to that. As organisations use more AI tools and agentic systems, they need to understand how costs build, where value is being created and where governance controls are needed. Without that clarity, it becomes harder to make confident investment decisions or demonstrate returns.
“Clear accountability, practical governance and workforce adoption must move together if businesses are to turn AI momentum into sustained value.”
AI value begins with senior accountability
Companies where CEOs are accountable for AI decisions report higher confidence in their AI strategy are more likely to realise meaningful business value, and report stronger ROI, highlighting the importance of leadership accountability in ensuring AI delivers value across a range of measures, not just cost reduction.
To better manage AI costs, organisations are putting governance controls in place, including monitoring and spending controls. More than half of UK leaders report having AI cost monitoring dashboards (57%) and embedding cost reviews as part of AI approval processes (61%), enabling stronger control and decision-making.
Organisations with stronger cost visibility are four times more likely to report established Return On Investment (ROI) (25% vs. 6%).
Leanne added:
“AI cost management cannot sit as an afterthought. If businesses want to scale AI responsibly, they need to build financial discipline into the way AI is approved, monitored and governed from the start. The organisations that can see their AI costs clearly are better placed to understand what is working, what is not and where to keep investing.”
