Global business leaders are doubling down on artificial intelligence investments despite economic uncertainty, with three-quarters planning to maintain AI as a top priority even during a recession. KPMG International’s inaugural Global AI Pulse Q1 2026 survey reveals organisations projecting an average USD 186 million spend over the next 12 months, based on responses from 2,110 senior executives across 20 countries including India.
While 95% of organisations report having an AI strategy, only 8% have established return on investment, exposing a stark execution gap between ambition and results. Nearly two-thirds (64%) claim meaningful business value such as productivity gains and revenue growth, yet just 11% qualify as true leaders consistently scaling AI enterprise-wide through orchestrated systems rather than isolated deployments.
AI Agents Lead the Scaling Charge
The survey spotlights accelerating adoption of AI agents, with 39% of organisations now scaling or driving adoption across functions, up from experimentation phases.
Top Deployment Areas:
- Technology/IT (66%): Accelerating code development and automation
- Operations (55%): Orchestrating complex workflows
- Marketing/Sales (43%): Enabling personalised customer engagement
Leaders—defined by 82% reporting clear business value versus 62% for others—excel through governance agility, process redesign and human-AI workflow integration, not simply greater spend or tool access.
Governance Defines Enterprise Winners
Data security, privacy and cybersecurity top concerns for 74% of executives, yet AI leaders demonstrate 2.4x greater risk confidence through proactive frameworks.
Key Leader Traits:
- Enterprise-wide agent orchestration across functions
- Redesigning workflows before AI deployment
- Strong talent pipelines (4x more likely to realise value)
- Clear value measurement and accountability
Challenges persist around workforce resistance, governance speed and quantifying ROI, particularly as ASPAC leads regional investment (USD 245M average) ahead of Americas (USD 178M) and EMEA (USD 157M).
KPMG’s quarterly pulse signals a maturing AI landscape where capability—not capital—determines competitive advantage. Enterprises succeeding today operate AI as an integrated system, embedding agents into decision-making, risk management and growth engines for compounding returns.
