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KPMG Pulls Agentic AI Report After Firms Say Case Studies Were Fabricated

A forensic review found widespread fake citations and AI 'hallucinations', prompting questions about how consultancies verify AI-assisted research.

Overview

  • KPMG removed its October 2025 report titled 'Total Experience: Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI' and opened a full internal investigation after external researchers and organisations flagged errors.
  • Independent reviewers at GPTZero reported that only five of 45 citations accurately matched their sources, with many references misleading, partially fabricated, or too vague to verify.
  • Major organisations named in the report, including UBS, NHS Greater Manchester, Swiss Federal Railways and Transport for London, publicly said KPMG's claims about their AI deployments were false or misleading.
  • The report's false case studies had been picked up by other industry outlets before KPMG removed the document, increasing the risk that the fabricated claims were amplified and reused.
  • The episode follows recent retractions at peer firms and highlights a wider trust problem for consultancies that use generative AI without stronger human verification, which could prompt stricter editorial controls and client scrutiny.