AI KPMG Says Nearly Half Of Executives Pulled Back AI Agents Over Cost By Sandy Carter ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Sandy Carter, CEO at EQUS.ai, Top 10 Microsoft MSN AI Entrepreneur Follow Author Aug 09, 2026, 12:59am EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary A recent KPMG survey reveals nearly half of executives have scaled back AI agent deployments, citing costs exceeding benefits. This viral statistic, from KPMG's Q2 2026 Global AI Pulse, highlights a shift in AI adoption. Despite these pullbacks, AI remains a top investment priority for 79% of leaders, with spending holding steady. The issue stems from the transition to usage-based, token pricing for AI, particularly for agents whose complex tasks rack up significant metered costs. Many companies lack real-time cost visibility and understanding of token economics. Experts suggest implementing cost meters, educating leaders on token pricing, and integrating cost reviews into AI approval processes. This isn't a bubble bursting, but rather a market maturing, with companies rephasing investments for greater financial discipline and strategic value.
Nearly Half Of Executives Cut AI Agents As The Bill Came Due, KPMG Finds (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images) Getty Images A statistic lit up social media. Nearly half of executives have delayed or scaled back AI agent deployments after costs exceeded benefits, according to KPMG.
Prediction market Polymarket amplified the number alongside its market putting the odds of an AI bubble burst by year end at roughly fifteen percent.
It is drawn from KPMG’s Global AI Pulse for the second quarter of 2026, a survey of 2,145 senior leaders across 20 countries at organizations with more than $50 million in annual revenue. In it, 49 percent of leaders said they had scaled back AI agent deployments because operating costs outweighed the benefits.
AI remained a top investment priority for 79 percent of leaders, up from 74 percent the prior quarter, with average AI spending holding steady at $188 million.
The share of organizations describing AI as part of everyday work jumped to 22 percent from 13 percent in the first quarter, the largest single-quarter move at any stage of KPMG's maturity curve.
In Asia-Pacific, 81 percent of companies reported that AI is already delivering meaningful business value, up from 69 percent three months earlier.
Companies pulling back on agents are not exiting but they are looking at how they will redesign them.
To understand what is happening, you need to understand how AI is priced.
Most vendors have shifted from flat subscriptions to usage-based pricing, billed in tokens. A token is a small chunk of text, roughly a word fragment. Every question an AI system reads, every answer it writes, and every step it takes consumes tokens, and companies pay per unit, the way they pay for electricity.
Pilots were cheap and often subsidized. And sometimes companies cannot even ROI.
Agents changed the math because they work differently than chatbots. They run long tasks, call other software, and check their own work, and every one of those steps is metered. When GitHub Copilot moved to usage-based billing on June 1, one Visual Studio Magazine writer tracked his first day under the new meter and projected a $180 monthly bill on a plan that had been a flat $10, driven by a single…