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.”
Moreover, AI adoption costs are a widespread concern.
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.
As for their broader outlook, the CEOs surveyed were generally optimistic. A clear majority expressed confidence in their company (84%), industry (82%), and the broader US economy (79%).
CEOs’ views on the global economy were somewhat gloomier, with only 64% expressing a positive outlook. Nearly 80% also said inflationary pressures will continue to affect their company over the next three years.
