Enterprises adopt AI agents 54% mid-2026

KPMG said in its Q1 2026 AI Quarterly Pulse that 54% of organizations have integrated AI agents into their operations, up from 33% in mid-2024 and 11% two years earlier. The survey said companies are moving beyond pilots as AI spending rises, with respondents projecting average AI investment of $207 million over the next 12 months. KPMG also said 73% of respondents are using AI to automate workflows across multiple functions and 53% are using it to route critical information between teams. The May 23 social post that circulated the 54% figure tracked closely with KPMG’s published survey, but some of the other numbers in that roundup were harder to verify directly from the firm’s public summary. KPMG’s own release does show a broad shift toward operational deployment, and it pairs that with a stronger emphasis on execution, workforce capability and human oversight. (kpmg.com) ### Where does the 54% figure come from? KPMG attributed the 54% figure to its Q1 2026 AI Quarterly Pulse, which says “more than half” of organizations have integrated AI agents into their operations. The firm’s public summary frames that as a move from experimentation toward large-scale production, with competitive advantage depending on process redesign, workforce enablement and risk management. (kpmg.com) KPMG also gave a time series that helps place the number in context. Two years ago, adoption was 11%, and by mid-2024 it had risen to 33%, according to the survey summary. That makes the latest reading a continuation of a sharp increase rather than a one-quarter jump. ### What are companies actually doing with those agents? (kpmg.com) KPMG said 73% of respondents use AI to automate workflows across multiple functions, and 53% use it to route critical information between teams. Those figures suggest the technology is being applied to coordination and process work, not only to isolated assistant-style tasks. (kpmg.com) IBM described a similar pattern in a separate 2026 report on “agentic AI workflows and enterprise operations.” IBM said 55% of organizations are actively developing or deploying an agentic AI operating model, and 60% plan to adopt delivery structures in which AI agents coordinate workflows across finance, supply chain, human resources, procurement, physical operations and customer service. (kpmg.com) ### Why are governance and visibility getting more attention? IBM said 82% of C-suite executives see functional silos as blocking value from AI, and its report argued that workflow architecture, data interoperability and enterprise orchestration are the pillars needed to scale agentic operations safely. The company said workflows, rather than departments, are becoming the primary unit of value creation in these models. (ibm.com) PwC reported a similar execution gap in operations. In its April 23, 2026 Digital Trends in Operations Survey of 767 U.S. operations and supply chain leaders, 83% said AI agents and automation will accelerate the breakdown of traditional silos, but only 27% said they had fully embedded an AI strategy across business units. PwC also said only 37% were comfortable assigning AI agents to execute full end-to-end processes in operations. (ibm.com) ### What is still slowing wider rollout? PwC said 87% of respondents reported poor data quality had hampered their ability to achieve value from digital initiatives, and only 30% reported significant improvement in data quality and reliability. The firm also said 89% believed their tech investments had not fully delivered expected results. (pwc.com) KPMG pointed to human oversight and workforce readiness as another constraint. Its survey said 57% of leaders now believe people should manage and direct AI agents, while 62% cited employee skill gaps as a barrier to ROI, up from 25% in the prior quarter. KPMG said 87% of leaders now see upskilling the current workforce as a priority. (pwc.com) ### What should readers watch next? IBM’s report is based on a survey of more than 2,000 C-suite executives across 16 countries and 17 industries, and PwC’s April 23 survey covers 767 U.S. operations and supply chain leaders. Those studies, alongside KPMG’s Q1 2026 pulse, are likely to be the next reference points as companies compare adoption rates with evidence on workflow redesign, data quality and oversight. (kpmg.com) (ibm.com)