Corporate AI deployments are expanding faster than many companies can track their operating costs, according to KPMG’s Q2 2026 AI Quarterly Pulse Survey. The survey, which examined U.S. organizations with at least $1 billion in revenue, found that only 26% of large enterprises have full, real-time visibility into what their AI systems cost to operate. While 66% have monitoring dashboards, only 36% have implemented direct token or usage controls, and 35% of leaders cite AI cost management and economic literacy as a barrier.
Enterprise AI strategies are also moving from isolated deployments toward more coordinated use of agents across workflows. The share of large organizations orchestrating multiple AI agents across workflows doubled from 9% to 18% in the most recent quarter. Rahsaan Shears, AI Enterprise Transformation Leader at KPMG, said “AI agents are changing both the operating model and the economics” as organizations move toward enterprise-wide use. Surveyed companies plan to invest a weighted average of $202 million in AI over the next 12 months.
Deeper AI integration is also creating more organizational friction. Employee resistance rose to 20%, up from 5% in the prior quarter, with trust and ethical concerns driving 53% of the pushback. Concerns about increased workload or complexity also rose to 51%. Some companies are considering “token-maxxing,” a practice that gamifies AI usage through incentives and leaderboards, though KPMG’s Edwige Sacco warned that it risks “incentivizing activity over outcomes.”
The survey also found that effective AI use is becoming a workforce advantage. Nearly half of leaders said employees who use AI effectively are already outperforming their peers. Companies are also paying premiums for AI talent, with 38% offering 11% to 15% more for candidates with strong AI skills and 40% offering a 6% to 10% premium. At the same time, 54% of executives agreed that strong social and interpersonal skills are now more important for career success than technical skills.