KPMG AI Quarterly Pulse Survey

Executive Insights: Year in review

As organizations double down on AI agents, they are pivoting from exploration to building robust, reliable systems. This report analyzes how organizations are tackling deployment complexity, driving enterprise value, and redefining ROI.

How did enterprise AI priorities evolve during 2026?

Grounded in eight consecutive quarters of proprietary research, findings from the KPMG AI Quarterly Pulse Survey reveal a clear shift from experimentation to enterprise discipline. Organizations are moving beyond initial AI agent deployments and are now preparing to scale agentic systems enterprise-wide. As agents became more autonomous and interconnected: cybersecurity, data privacy and quality, transparency, and, most important, trust is paramount. In short, scaling agentic systems hinges not only on ambition, but increasingly on governance, trust, and platform rigor.

How have AI investment and deployment changed in the past year?

If 2025 was considered the "year of the agent," then 2026 marks the emergence of the "agent orchestrator," a period in which AI is fundamentally reshaping how businesses generate value, operate, and grow. In 2025, initial enthusiasm led to large-scale production, with average investment climbing from $114M in Q1 to $130M in Q3. Agent deployment also saw significant growth, more than doubling from 11% in Q1 to 26% in Q4.

What is the most surprising change in corporate attitudes about AI?

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. The companies pulling ahead are treating AI as a core business strategy, expanding their agent ecosystems, and building the infrastructure to scale confidently and creatively across the enterprise.