Global KPMG AI Report Riddled with Hallucinated Citations, Research Reveals
A recent KPMG report on agentic AI, titled "Total Experience," was found by GPTZero investigators to contain extensive AI-generated errors. Only five of its 45 citations were accurate, with many others fabricated or distorted. This highlights growing concerns about "vibe citing" and AI hallucinations in influential research disseminated globally, underscoring risks to factual integrity in professional publications.
Key points
- KPMG, a global consulting firm, published an October 2025 report titled "Total Experience: Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI."
- Research outfit GPTZero conducted a forensic review, revealing that only five of the report's 45 citations accurately pointed to real sources.
- GPTZero coined the term "vibe citing" to describe these false or distorted references, which included fabricated sources, garbled attributions, and misleading titles.
- The review also alleged that roughly half of the report's factual claims, including specific agentic AI case studies at UBS, Swiss Federal Railways, and Transport for London, were unsupported or attributed incorrectly.
- Investigators emphasized that such errors in a globally disseminated KPMG report carry significant consequences, potentially spreading misinformation across various sectors.
Global consulting giant KPMG's report on agentic artificial intelligence has drawn scrutiny after a forensic review uncovered a significant number of AI-generated inaccuracies within its references. The October 2025 publication, "Total Experience: Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI," intended to showcase the potential of advanced AI, has instead become an unexpected demonstration of the technology's propensity for fabrication.
Research conducted by GPTZero, a firm specializing in AI detection, revealed that a mere five of the 45 citations within the KPMG document accurately corresponded to genuine sources. The remaining 40 references ranged from completely false to significantly distorted, featuring mangled attributions, paraphrased titles, and entirely fabricated entries. GPTZero has labeled this phenomenon "vibe citing," where generative AI creates plausible-looking but ultimately untrue citations, mimicking the style of academic or professional referencing. Beyond citations, the investigation further claimed that approximately half of the report's factual assertions were unsupported, misattributed, or false, specifically highlighting purported cutting-edge AI deployments at entities like UBS, Swiss Federal Railways, and Transport for London.
This incident underscores a critical challenge facing the professional and academic publishing landscape as AI tools become more integrated into research processes. Given KPMG's global reach and influence, findings within its reports are widely cited and can inform decisions across industries and governments. GPTZero warned that "vibes have consequences," emphasizing the potential for such errors to propagate misinformation on an international scale. The revelation follows a similar instance where Deloitte refunded the Australian government due to AI-generated content in a taxpayer-funded report, suggesting a broader pattern in the consulting industry.
Sources
The WireByte editorial team synthesises technology news from multiple primary sources, verifies the facts, and links every source. Articles are produced with AI assistance and reviewed under our editorial policy.