KPMG AI Quarterly Pulse Survey
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AI at Scale: How 2025 Set the Stage for Agent-Driven Enterprise Reinvention in 2026
Insights from the KPMG Q4 AI Pulse Survey reveal business leader priorities that will drive agents into the enterprise in 2026, led by continued investment in the technology and critical foundations, from the workforce to cybersecurity.
Executive insight – Year in review
Grounded in eight consecutive quarters of proprietary research, findings from the KPMG AI Quarterly Pulse Survey point to a shift from experimentation to enterprise discipline—where scaling agentic systems now hinges on governance, trust and platform rigor, not just ambition.
If 2025 was the "year of the agent," then 2026 is the year of the "agent orchestrator," where AI is rearchitecting how businesses create value, operate, and grow. In 2025, early conviction turned into production‑scale with average investment climbing (from $114M in Q1 to $130M in Q3), and agent deployment more than doubling (from 11% in Q1 to 26% in Q4). Organizations are moving beyond initial deployments and are now professionalizing and preparing to scale agent systems. As agents became more autonomous and interconnected, complexity—not ambition—set the pace: cyber, privacy, data quality, and transparency now dictate architecture and operations.
The year’s realization:
Organizations are learning that winning with AI agents is ultimately about people—redefining roles, rebuilding skills, and embedding human-agent collaboration into daily work. Leaders are investing in this shift, with many rethinking hiring, expecting agents to manage projects (while humans manage the agents), and prioritizing trust through stronger governance, security, and data foundations. The companies pulling ahead are treating AI as a core business strategy, professionalizing their agent ecosystems, and building the infrastructure to scale confidently and creatively across the enterprise.
Q4 2025 key findings: From acceleration to operational rigor—Cyber, data, and workforce set the pace
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Enterprises are institutionalizing AI, raising planned spend while shifting from quick wins to platform‑level transformation, with 59% expecting to see measurable ROI within 12 months.
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Agent deployment went mainstream, with over a quarter of organizations deploying agents today, more than doubling (26% in Q4 from 11% in Q1) —so teams can scale multi-agent systems with controls, observability, and reliable data.
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Complexity is the new bottleneck. Multi-agent orchestration, reliability, and traceability have overtaken all other barriers as organizations move from prototypes to production at scale.
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Scaling now hinges on trust-first architecture—cyber, privacy and data quality risks spiked, making hardened security and clean data prerequisites for safe, enterprise-wide agent operations.
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Talent and oversight are catching up. Hands‑on agent training, shadowing, and a sharp rise in board‑level AI expertise signal the shift to disciplined, enterprise‑grade stewardship.
Dive into our thinking:
AI Q4 2025 Pulse Survey: Key findings
Organizations shift from rapid agent growth to controlled scaling
AI isn’t just an investment, it’s becoming the backbone of enterprise strategy. What the numbers don’t show is the growing divide: while some organizations stall after early deployments, the leaders are scaling fast and pulling ahead. For those treating AI as a true disruptor, this isn’t about catching the next wave; it’s about agents fundamentally changing how value is created and sustained across the enterprise.
Steve Chase
U.S. Vice Chair and Global Head of AI and Digital Innovation
How AI investment shifted in 2025
Operating AI reliably: The path ahead
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