What happened
KPMG released its Q3 2026 AI Quarterly Pulse survey (24 September), based on fieldwork conducted 23 July–26 August 2026 among ~2,131 senior leaders across 20 countries. The headline finding: "Nearly 6 in 10 leaders report measurable business value from their AI initiatives," with productivity gains the most common (55%), followed by faster decision-making (49%) and stronger financial performance (37%). Agent adoption accelerated sharply — "62% of organizations report they are now building, deploying or developing AI agents, up from 53% last quarter," and the share actively developing or implementing multi-agent systems jumped to 25% from 6%. Significant workforce adoption of AI rose to 44%, up from 23% last quarter and 10% a year earlier, with governance, cost management and accountability concerns emerging as the focus of the current phase.
Why it matters
The quarterly pulse is the fastest read on how fast agentic AI and workforce adoption are scaling relative to governance — a direct input for board agenda-setting on AI value realization and risk oversight.
Action needed
Stress-test your enterprise's agent deployment and multi-agent plans against the 62%-deploying baseline, and ensure governance/accountability practices match the pace of workforce adoption.