KPMG AI report contained false citations and fabricated case studies
A KPMG report titled "Redefining excellence in the age of agentic AI" published in October 2025 contained numerous false citations and fabricated case studies that appeared to be AI-generated hallucinations. The report made false claims about AI adoption at organizations including UBS, the UK National Health Service, Swiss Federal Railways, and Transport for London, with only five of 45 citations accurately reflecting real sources.
What happened
KPMG published a report titled 'Redefining excellence in the age of agentic AI' in October 2025 that contained numerous false citations and fabricated case studies. Of the 45 citations in the report, only five accurately reflected real sources, with others being totally fake or including garbled attributions and titles.
The report made false claims about AI adoption by organizations including UBS, the UK National Health Service, Swiss Federal Railways, and Transport for London. These false claims and case studies appear to have been based on AI-generated hallucinations.
Reported impact
The false report was disseminated globally, raising concerns about the consequences of reports plagued with AI hallucinations. Researchers at GPTZero noted the incident as part of a broader trend where major government reports, academic papers and other research are becoming plagued with AI hallucinations.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.