Despite widespread adoption of artificial intelligence, 89% of CEOs of major U.S. corporations expect to increase overall headcount over the next three years. 

This is according to a survey released today by accounting firm KPMG, which contacted the CEOs of 400 major U.S. companies with at least $500 million in annual revenue.

The results indicate that CEOs increasingly view AI as something to integrate into their processes, rather than a way to cut labor costs. About eight in 10 said AI has led their companies to reconsider how they develop employees, while three-quarters said they have reassessed the skills needed for entry-level positions. 

Another 86% said they are “redesigning roles, career paths, and team structure to reflect human-AI collaboration.” A similar percentage (83%) said they are focused on retaining or retraining “high-potential talent,” while 79% are hiring new talent with AI and tech capabilities. 

Meanwhile, just 53% said they are planning AI-related workforce reductions in some areas. 

While CEOs expect to continue pouring money into AI—84% list it as a top investment priority over the next three years—the returns on these investments are still materializing. While roughly 40% of CEOs said AI agents had made “significant” improvements to their company’s performance, only 9% described the current impact of agentic AI as “transformational.” 

Roughly half of CEOs described managing AI-related costs as “mostly or very challenging,” while 81% anticipate that AI will have a greater impact on their margins than labor costs over the next five years.

More than 70% said a lack of “reliable AI access and advancement” was the biggest disruption risk facing their companies.

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