Just 9% of 400 CEOs call AI agents transformational in KPMG survey

KPMG's numbers put a wide gap between a gain and a transformation. About four in 10 of the 400 CEOs said agents had produced significant improvements in efficiency or growth, and a similar share reported moderate effects in targeted uses ^[2]. Four in 10 of 400 is roughly 160 executives ^[17]. The 9% who called agents transformational today is 36 ^[18]. Walsh, CEO and chair of KPMG US, told Business Insider there is a gap between using AI and the tricky work of overhauling how a company operates ^[4]. "It's not plug and play," he said ^[5].

Walsh described the overhaul in specific terms. "Most businesses have been around for decades, and many processes haven't been updated for decades," he said ^[14]. To rework around AI, he said, companies often must update those processes, get their data into usable form and bring in engineers to automate workflows ^[13].

That list bears on the hiring figure. KPMG US itself needs to hire more engineers and data scientists, Walsh said ^[15]. Review is a second source of labor. "I need the humans to review this stuff," he said. "We can't just rely on these agents. They're not always right." ^[16] In our view, part of the nine in 10 planning to add headcount ^[7] is the engineers and reviewers the redesign requires, so payroll would rise before any task leaves it. The survey as reported does not break the hiring plans down by role.

A skeptic would say a low transformational share is simply what a young technology looks like, with no need for a redesign story. That may be right. Walsh expects the share of leaders reporting transformation to rise over the next six to 12 months ^[6], and a rise would fit either explanation.

Budgets set this quarter decide where a company stands when that window closes. On Walsh's account, using AI and overhauling operations are separate jobs ^[4]. A budget that pays for the first and not the second should not expect to land among the 9%.