KPMG’s latest AI Quarterly Pulse Survey finds that organizations are doubling down on AI investments as macroeconomic pressures, investor demands, and efficiency imperatives mount. The majority of surveyed leaders (67%) expect AI to fundamentally transform their businesses within the next two years, reflecting a sharp uptick in optimism about the technology’s impact.

Yet, data quality concerns top the list for 85% of leaders, followed by data privacy and cybersecurity (71%), and employee adoption (46%). Despite these hurdles, 68% of leaders plan to invest between $50 and $250 million in GenAI over the next 12 months, up from 45% in Q1 2024.

More than half (51%) of businesses are currently exploring AI agents, with plans to leverage them for administrative tasks (60%), call center operations (54%), and new business materials development (53%) within the next year. However, only 12% have deployed these tools so far.

Across leadership ranks, Chief Information Officers (71%) are increasingly spearheading AI initiatives, overtaking CEOs (17%) and Chief Innovation Officers (10%). This represents a marked shift from earlier in the year, when nearly half (49%) reported CEOs as the primary AI leaders.

The quarterly survey of 100 U.S.-based C-suite and business leaders, each from organizations with $1 billion or more in annual revenue, also highlights that only 7% have appointed board members with GenAI expertise, though 91% plan to do so.

Additionally, 81% of respondents aim to include GenAI in performance reviews, a move designed to spur widespread adoption and better governance of AI technologies.