Businesses are pouring money into AI like it’s the last open bar at a wedding. The hangover is arriving before the buzz: just 7% of senior leaders say they can actually demonstrate a positive return on those investments, according to KPMG’s latest global survey.
The consulting firm’s Global AI Pulse for Q2 2026, released June 24, surveyed 2,145 C-suite and senior business leaders from organizations pulling in more than $50 million in annual revenue across 20 countries. The fieldwork ran from April 28 to May 25.
The paradox of AI enthusiasm without proof
The 7% figure looks even stranger when placed next to another data point from the same survey: 76% of leaders say AI is delivering “meaningful business value.” That’s up 12 percentage points from the prior quarter, when 64% said the same thing.
Part of the explanation sits in the cost column. A full 42% of organizations only have partial visibility into what they’re spending on AI. Another 33% say limited understanding of usage costs is a significant deployment challenge. Hard to calculate a return on investment when you’re fuzzy on the “investment” half of the equation.
