AI's Value Story Sharpens as Organizations Gain Confidence in Governance, Accountability and Workforce Adoption
NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2026 – Nearly 6 in 10 leaders report measurable business value from their AI initiatives, according to the latest KPMG Quarterly AI Pulse Survey. While productivity gains remain the most common (55%), organizations are increasingly reporting realized value across multiple dimensions, including faster decision-making (49%), better customer and employee experiences (38%) and stronger financial performance (37%).
"AI’s value story is getting sharper,” said Todd Lohr, Vice Chair and Head of Client Technology & Innovation, at KPMG LLP. "The clearest sign that AI is maturing is where the value is showing up: better experiences, faster decisions and stronger financial performance. That is putting AI at the center of business strategy."
AI Quarterly Pulse Survey: Q3 2026
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Click hereCost management, governance and data quality move to the forefront
Governance is expanding to include both security and risk management as well as improved financial accountability as AI becomes a bigger part of business operations. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of organizations now include cost reviews in AI approval processes, up from 61% last quarter, while 70% use AI monitoring dashboards and 43% have implemented usage or token budgets.
As organizations improve visibility into AI spending and performance, they are also becoming more deliberate about where autonomy is appropriate. Nearly half of leaders (49%) have defined high-risk use cases where they do not allow autonomous decision-making by agents. At the same time, confidence in the ability to manage AI at scale has risen, with 73% of leaders expressing confidence in the governance and capabilities they have in place, a steep jump from 57% last quarter. The share of organizations building controls into their agents alongside monitoring and evaluation procedures also fell to 30% from 43% two quarters ago, as many are relying on guardrails already in place.
“Leaders are applying the same discipline and oversight they would to any other strategic investment," said Rahsaan Shears, AI Enterprise Transformation Leader at KPMG LLP. "As organizations get better at managing cost and risk, they are scaling what works. But governance is never finished. The challenge is enabling oversight to keep pace with the technology and evolve strategically to maintain safe, secure and responsible AI.”
Governance maturity is accelerating AI agent deployment and workforce adoption
Rising confidence in governance, combined with greater visibility into AI spending and clearer controls around data and model access, is helping accelerate AI agent deployment and workforce adoption across the enterprise.
Today, 62% of organizations report they are now building, deploying or developing AI agents, up from 53% last quarter. Notably, the percentage actively developing or implementing multi-agent systems climbed to 25%, compared to only 6% in the last two quarters. Employee adoption is rising in tandem. The share of organizations reporting significant workforce adoption increased to 44%, up from 23% last quarter and 10% a year ago.
The KPMG Quarterly AI Pulse Survey in the U.S. captured perspectives between July 24 and Aug. 25 from 314 U.S.-based C-suite and business leaders representing organizations with annual revenue of $1 billion or more. More than one-third have revenues of $10 billion or more. The U.S. insights are part of KPMG’s Global AI Pulse research.
Questions & Answers
| Question | Answer |
| What is the current state of enterprise AI adoption? | The findings suggest that enterprise AI is moving into a more mature phase. Nearly six in ten leaders report measurable business value from AI initiatives, while organizations are increasingly adopting governance practices, deploying AI agents and driving workforce adoption at scale. |
| Where are organizations seeing the greatest business value from AI today? | Productivity gains remain the most frequently reported benefit, cited by 55% of leaders. Organizations are also realizing value through faster decision-making (49%), improved customer and employee experiences (38%) and stronger financial performance (37%). |
| Why is AI becoming a larger part of business strategy? | Organizations are seeing AI generate value across multiple business outcomes, not just efficiency gains. As AI contributes to better experiences, faster decisions and stronger financial results, it is increasingly becoming a strategic capability rather than a standalone technology investment. |
| How are leaders strengthening accountability for AI investments? | Organizations are placing greater emphasis on financial discipline and performance measurement. Nearly three-quarters (74%) now include cost reviews in AI approval processes, while 70% use AI monitoring dashboards and 43% have implemented usage or token budgets. |
| How is AI governance evolving as adoption increases? | AI governance is expanding beyond security and risk management to include financial accountability, performance monitoring and oversight of autonomous systems. Leaders are increasingly applying the same discipline and oversight to AI that they would to other strategic investments. |
| How confident are executives in their organizations' ability to govern AI effectively? | Confidence has increased significantly, with 73% of leaders expressing confidence in the governance and capabilities they have in place, compared with 57% in the previous quarter. |
| How are organizations managing the risks associated with AI agents? | Organizations are becoming more deliberate about where autonomy is appropriate. Nearly half of leaders (49%) have defined high-risk use cases where autonomous decision-making by AI agents is not permitted, establishing clearer boundaries around risk and accountability. |
| What is driving the acceleration of AI agent deployment? | Greater confidence in governance, improved visibility into AI spending and clearer controls around data and model access are helping organizations scale AI initiatives. As a result, 62% of organizations are now building, deploying or developing AI agents, up from 53% last quarter. |
| Are organizations beginning to adopt more sophisticated AI agent models? | Yes. The percentage of organizations actively developing or implementing multi-agent systems rose to 25%, compared with 6% in each of the previous two quarters, indicating growing adoption of more advanced AI architectures. |
| How quickly is workforce adoption of AI advancing? | Workforce adoption is accelerating rapidly. Forty-four percent of organizations now report significant employee adoption of AI, up from 23% last quarter and 10% a year ago, suggesting AI is becoming more deeply embedded in day-to-day work. |
| What is the relationship between governance maturity and AI adoption? | The survey indicates that governance and adoption are advancing together. As organizations improve controls around cost, risk, data access and oversight, they are becoming more confident in scaling AI agents and driving broader workforce adoption. |
| What is the most important takeaway for business leaders from this quarter's findings? | The conversation around AI is shifting from experimentation to execution. Organizations with stronger governance, accountability and operational controls are increasingly realizing measurable business value and expanding AI adoption across the enterprise. |
| Who participated in the KPMG Quarterly AI Pulse Survey? | The U.S. survey captured perspectives from 314 C-suite and business leaders at organizations with annual revenue of $1 billion or more. More than one-third represented organizations with revenue of $10 billion or more. Responses were collected between July 24 and August 25, 2026, as part of KPMG's Global AI Pulse research. |
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