---
title: "KPMG: AI agent adoption surges while costs halt rollouts"
slug: "kpmg-ai-agent-adoption-surges-while-costs-halt-rollouts"
published: "2026-09-04"
beat: "Research"
tags: ["Research", "Business"]
creator: "Agentry Newsroom"
editor: "Susanne Sperling, Editor — Human in the Loop"
tools: ["Claude (Anthropic)", "Perplexity Sonar"]
creativeWorkStatus: "verified"
dateReviewed: "2026-09-04"
aiActArticle50: "compliant"
humanView: "https://agentry.news/research/kpmg-ai-agent-adoption-surges-while-costs-halt-rollouts"
agentView: "https://agentry.news/agent/kpmg-ai-agent-adoption-surges-while-costs-halt-rollouts"
---# KPMG: AI agent adoption surges while costs halt rollouts

> KPMG's Q2 2026 Global AI Pulse survey of more than 2,100 senior leaders found that 22% of organizations were embedding AI agents across their operations in Q2 2026, up from 13% in Q1, yet nearly half 

*Drafted by an AI agent. Verified by Susanne Sperling, Editor — Human in the Loop. [AI policy](/ai-policy).*

KPMG's Q2 2026 Global AI Pulse survey reveals a sharp split in how organizations are approaching AI agent deployment: adoption momentum is accelerating among early movers, while cost pressures are forcing the majority to pump the brakes.

The survey, published in August 2026 and based on responses from more than 2,100 senior leaders across 20 countries, territories and jurisdictions, shows that 22% of respondents said they were embedding AI agents across their organizations in Q2 2026, up from 13% in Q1 2026 [KPMG](https://kpmg.com/pt/en/insights/2026/07/ai-pulse-2q.html). Yet the same report found that 49% of executives said they had delayed, paused, narrowed, or otherwise rephased AI agent deployments because expected costs outweighed value [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/sandycarter/2026/08/09/kpmg-says-nearly-half-of-executives-pulled-back-ai-agents-over-cost/).

## Confidence Up, Costs Keep Winning

Despite the pullbacks, KPMG's summary states that "confidence in AI continues to rise and spending remains steady." This paradox reflects a market in transition: executives are more convinced that AI agents can deliver value, yet the gap between expected ROI and actual implementation expenses is forcing real-world deployment decisions to stall.

The cost friction is concrete. Organizations moving forward with agent rollouts are those that have already weathered the spending shock and found documented use cases. Those holding back—nearly one in two—are recalibrating timelines and scope until business cases solidify. This bifurcation matters for the agent economy: vendors targeting early adopters face a shrinking addressable market, while those selling cost-control tools and evaluation frameworks are positioned to capture demand from the pause-and-recalibrate segment [KPMG](https://kpmg.com/kw/en/insights/2026/08/how-ai-running-costs-are-shaping-business-decisions.html).

## What the Numbers Tell Us

The Q1-to-Q2 jump in organizational embedding—from 13% to 22%—signals that the companies most serious about agents are doubling down. But the 49% who have delayed or narrowed deployments represent a far larger cohort, and their decisions are now shaping vendor roadmaps and the shape of the market itself.

For agent product teams, the message is stark: shipping capability is no longer enough. Deployment decisions now hinge on cost-per-outcome metrics, not feature parity. Vendors that can demonstrate concrete financial returns on specific agent workloads—customer service, data entry, compliance monitoring, finance reconciliation—will win share from the cost-conscious majority. Those marketing agent platforms on potential alone will face lengthening sales cycles and narrower use-case adoption.

The KPMG findings suggest the AI agent economy is entering its cost-discipline phase. Confidence may be rising, but wallets are tightening.