KPMG Survey Finds AI Agents Fail to Transform Most Businesses
KPMG US reports that only 9% of CEOs view AI agents as transformational despite widespread investment and plans to increase total headcount.
A survey of 400 CEOs from major US-based companies conducted by KPMG US reveals that AI agents have not yet fundamentally transformed most businesses. While 40% of leaders report significant improvements in efficiency and growth, only 9% describe the technology as transformational for their organizations.
Despite the automation capabilities of AI agents, 90% of CEOs expect to increase their total headcount over the next three years. These leaders plan to focus on hiring engineers and data scientists while retraining high-potential workers to address skills gaps and foster human-AI collaboration.
To avoid disruption, over 80% of CEOs designate AI as a top investment priority for the next three years. Two-thirds of these executives plan to allocate at least 10% of their capital budgets to the technology in the coming year. Tim Walsh, CEO and chair of KPMG US, noted that the technology is not plug and play and emphasized the need for human review because agents are not always right.
