Agent Deployment Accelerates as Organizations Build Confidence Through Early Wins

NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER 18, 2025 – In just six months, AI has crossed a critical threshold with organizations shifting from asking 'should we?' to 'how fast can we scale?' The KPMG Q3 2025 AI Quarterly Pulse survey launched today and reveals that AI agent deployment has nearly quadrupled, with 42% of organizations now having deployed at least some agents, up from 11% two quarters ago.

Technology departments are leading in agent deployment, with 95% now leveraging agents to deliver immediate productivity gains. Operations and risk management departments follow at 89% and 66%, respectively.  

“We’re already seeing agent deployments deliver measurable ROI – both inside our firm and with clients,” said Steve Chase, U.S. Vice Chair and Global Head of AI and Digital Innovation. “Agents are taking on repeatable, measurable work where time and cost savings show up directly in the metrics organizations track today. That clarity is why leaders feel so confident about achieving ROI in the next 12 months: the results are visible, tangible, and compounding quickly.”

This confidence is shown in projected AI investment levels, which have increased by 14% since the first quarter of the year to an average of $130 million over the next twelve months.

While organizations are investing and moving forward, data quality has emerged as the top barrier to success with 82% citing it as critical compared to 56% last quarter. Cybersecurity concerns have similarly intensified, now affecting 78% of organizations.

Rethinking Value in the Age of AI

The most telling shift is how organizations are reconsidering what success looks like. An overwhelming 78% of leaders now acknowledge that traditional business metrics do not capture AI's full impact, a recognition that speaks to the technology's transformative nature beyond simple cost savings.

This evolution in thinking comes at a critical moment. The same percentage of leaders (78%) report facing significant pressure from investors and boards to demonstrate AI value, creating a tension between the need for quick wins and the reality that AI's benefits often transcend traditional ROI calculations. While the majority (57%) expect measurable ROI within 12 months, value from agent investment is already being delivered. Leaders are tracking improved productivity (97%), enhanced profitability (94%), and higher quality work (91%) – outputs that can be quantified within traditional ROI frameworks.

"Leaders recognize we are still early in the investment cycle,” said Todd Lohr, National Managing Principal of Clients & Markets. "What we're seeing is organizations tracking leading indicators like productivity gains and quality improvements that provide confidence even as the broader enterprise-wide returns develop over time.”

Workforce Transformation Accelerates

As AI and agents are increasingly integrated into workflows, employee resistance has plummeted from 47% to just 21% in a single quarter, with 55% of the workforce now either accepting or actively embracing AI agents. This shift isn't happening by coincidence – organizations are investing in comprehensive training programs to teach prompt engineering skills, creating sandbox environments for safe experimentation and implementing innovative "AI agent shadowing" programs where employees learn through observation. This transformation extends to hiring strategies as well, with the majority of leaders (56%) expecting to adjust entry-level recruiting within 12 months.

The Path Forward

As organizations look ahead, three imperatives stand out. First, data foundations enable AI ambitions – no amount of sophisticated technology can overcome poor data quality. Second, human-AI collaboration requires intentional design and sustained investment in workforce development. Third, success metrics must evolve to capture AI's true value across quality improvements, innovation acceleration, and competitive positioning.

“Leaders must balance speed with governance, ambition with pragmatism, and technology investment with human capability building,” continued Chase. “We are working with our clients every day to get this balance right and drive sustainable AI change.”

The KPMG Quarterly Pulse Survey captures perspectives from 130 U.S.-based C-suite and business leaders representing organizations with annual revenue of $1 billion or more. For more insights from boardrooms to strategy sessions, visit KPMG’s You can with AI seven-part podcast series and check out some of our client success stories here, here and here.