- AI investment remains a priority, even amid global turmoil
- AI leaders feel comfortable managing risk and see greater AI value
- “There is no agent future without trust” or governance
Three in four (74%) global executives plan to keep AI tools as a top priority for investment, even amid economic uncertainty, but new research from KPMG suggests that investment value alone is not enough to determine a successful ROI.
Currently, around two-thirds (64%) of organizations agree that AI has delivered meaningful business value, but three-quarters are concerned about data security and privacy as they still lack a fully rounded plan.
With many companies now evolving from generative AI to agent AI (32% deploying them at scale and 27% using multiple agents), it’s time to apply the lessons learned from previous investments – because as always, many of the challenges are the same.
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Shifting investment from GenAI to AI agents is not enough in itself
The data reveals that only one in five early-stage companies feel comfortable managing the risks, but this number rises to just under half among AI leaders, indicating that some upskilling and development is also required.
Currently, only 11% qualify as ‘AI Leaders’ and reaching this stage is critical because 82% of them see meaningful value compared to 62% of their non-executive peers.
To achieve AI leadership status, KPMG encourages companies to see AI as a transformation, not a bolt-on to current setups. With AI managers seen hiring for AI-specific roles, running AI training, and having humans working alongside AI agents, these are the things early-stage companies should be copying.
According to data, those who invest in their workforces are nearly four times more likely to see AI value.
As for the challenges that have barely changed since companies first started investing in AI, it all comes back to data quality, governance and compliance, and security and privacy. Addressing these early will enable a business to lay the right foundations before fundamentally changing how it operates.
“There is no agent future without trust and no trust without governance that keeps up,” commented Steve Chase, global head of AI and digital innovation.
“The study makes clear that sustained investment in people, training and change management is what enables organizations to responsibly scale AI and capture value.”
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