Corporate investments in artificial intelligence (AI) have grown by 33 percent compared to the previous year, according to the KPMG AI Pulse quarterly survey. The survey, which focuses on U.S. companies with annual revenues of at least one billion dollars, found that 62 percent of these firms are either currently using AI agents or in the process of developing them—up from 53 percent in the previous quarter. The use of multi-agent systems, where multiple AI programs work together, has also risen significantly, reaching 25 percent, compared to just 6 percent in the last two quarters. Strategic priorities for AI have become more prominent, with 74 percent of CEOs identifying AI as a key strategic focus for their companies. Nearly six in ten executives (58 percent) report that their AI initiatives are generating measurable business value. This value is seen in areas like productivity (56 percent), decision-making (49 percent), customer experience (38 percent), employee experience and quality (38 percent), and financial results (37 percent). AI is no longer just a test or pilot project; it is becoming a regular part of daily operations. AI is increasingly embedded in corporate workflows, with 74 percent of executives using it in validation processes, 70 percent using it to monitor dashboards, and 43 percent having set budgets for AI usage. AI agents are moving beyond experimental phases and into active use, with 62 percent of companies now deploying them in production, compared to 42 percent in the third quarter of 2025. However, data-related challenges remain a major barrier, with 53 percent of respondents citing data preparation as the primary obstacle to AI deployment. Organizations are increasingly developing clear guidelines for how employees should work with AI agents. This practice has grown from 21 percent to 55 percent in the past year. Today, 65 percent of AI agents are designed to encourage the integration of AI collaboration skills into existing workflows and job requirements. A quarter of those surveyed (24 percent) say AI agents are pushing companies to revise promotion criteria to value AI proficiency and the ability to delegate tasks to AI. Nearly half of organizations (44 percent) report that their employees have adopted AI agents significantly, compared to just 10 percent in 2025. Other research supports the findings of the KPMG survey. According to the McKinsey State of AI 2026 report, 40 percent of large companies are now using AI agents on a large scale—up from 27 percent the previous year. Studies by Deloitte and Accenture also highlight that while AI adoption is growing, challenges remain, particularly around responsibility, governance, and maintaining healthy human-AI interactions. These reports suggest that the success of AI in companies depends more on managing these human factors than on the technology itself.