KPMG’s October 2025 report on agentic AI has come under fire for alleged factual inaccuracies and misleading citations. Independent analyst GPTZero examined the 45 references in the document titled “Total Experience: Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI” and found that only five correctly corresponded to verifiable sources. The remaining citations were either distorted, vague or entirely fabricated.
GPTZero described the issue as “vibe citing,” where generative AI assembles plausible‑looking references that fall apart when checked. The review concluded that roughly half of the report’s factual statements were false, unsupported, or attributed to the wrong source.
Specific case studies cited in the report—purported deployments of agentic AI at UBS, Swiss Federal Railways and Transport for London—were found to lack supporting evidence, with the referenced documents either not confirming the claims or being heavily paraphrased.
One notable error involved a claim on page 42 that Emirates airline had adopted a mobile chatbot named “Sara” capable of changing passenger bookings. In reality, Sara is a robot assistant introduced by Emirates in 2023 that does not function as a chatbot and cannot modify reservations.
The report also conflicted with KPMG’s own internal research. While the document stated that 55 % of CEOs ranked AI as their top investment priority, KPMG’s 2025 CEO Outlook published the same month reported a figure of 71 %.
KPMG has removed the report from several of its websites while it investigates the lapse, according to the Financial Times. A KPMG spokesperson told The Register that the firm takes the accuracy and integrity of its publications seriously and is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the report’s release, emphasizing the need for human oversight when using AI‑generated content.
This episode serves as a stark reminder that even seasoned consulting firms can fall victim to AI hallucinations, despite years of warning clients about the risk.
