Global AI Pulse: Q1 2026

Scaling AI value: Why capability is defining the next phase

AI investment is accelerating but enterprise value remains uneven. How organisations align operating models, governance and workforce readiness will define the next phase of advantage.

KPMG’s inaugural Global AI Pulse draws on insights from more than 2,100 senior leaders across 20 countries, territories and jurisdictions, to understand how organisations are navigating AI’s next phase. What’s emerging is not a question of ambition, but of capability. For many organisations, the challenge lies in orchestrating AI across the enterprise, integrating systems, aligning workflows and enabling coordinated execution at scale.

Key highlights

In India, the AI conversation has decisively moved beyond experimentation. Enterprises are investing with confidence, but execution is now the real differentiator. Our Global AI Pulse Q1 2026 survey shows that value is created by organisations that redesign how work gets done embedding AI and agentic systems into workflows, governance and decision-making. For India’s digital, platform-led economy, aligning technology, trust and workforce capability as a single operating system will be critical to translating AI momentum into sustained performance and growth.

Purushothaman KG

Partner and Head of Artificial Intelligence

KPMG in India

Explore what executives are saying about orchestrating AI at scale

The Global AI Pulse: Q1 2026 report examines a critical shift underway, toward AI orchestration, offering early insight into how leading organisations are moving from fragmented AI use cases to orchestrated, enterprise-wide capability. In the full report, you’ll discover:

The gap between AI investment and enterprise value, and why impact remains uneven across organisations
What leading organisations do differently, and how they are beginning to operationalise AI at scale
The shift from isolated use cases to coordinated, agent-driven systems across the enterprise
The role of governance and trust in enabling AI to scale responsibly

The workforce capabilities required to embed AI into day-to-day decision-making and execution
What it takes to orchestrate AI across systems, workflows, and functions to deliver repeatable, enterprise-level outcomes
The sector and regional realities of scaling AI

Global AI Pulse: Q1 2026 report

Discover how organisations move beyond AI deployment to orchestration, seamlessly integrating it into their operations

Download the report

About the research

The KPMG Global AI Pulse is a quarterly global study capturing the perspectives from 2,110 C-suite and business leaders representing organisations in 20 countries, territories and jurisdictions. The research looks at AI adoption, challenges, and impact, providing timely insights to help leaders track how AI is evolving across industries and regions.