KPMG pulls report on AI after hallucinations undermine its credibility

KPMG has removed a report about artificial intelligence from its websites after multiple organizations named in the document said its claims were false. Anthony Ha reports for TechCrunch that the inaccuracies appear to stem from AI hallucinations, meaning the firm likely used AI to help produce a report about AI adoption.

The report, titled “Redefining excellence in the age of agentic AI,” was published in October 2025. Research group GPTZero identified the inaccuracies and told the Financial Times that hallucinations were the cause.

Several organizations reject the claims

Four organizations specifically stated that the report misrepresented their AI usage:

• UBS
• The UK’s National Health Service
• Swiss Federal Railways
• Transport for London

Each told the Financial Times that the report’s statements about them were either untrue or misleading.

A KPMG spokesperson confirmed the firm removed the report while conducting an internal investigation. “We expect all our people to follow our guidelines on the responsible use of AI, including human oversight to validate content and verify independent sources,” the spokesperson said.

The incident is not isolated. Last month, consulting firm EY withdrew a report on loyalty rewards programs that also appeared to contain fake footnotes and AI hallucinations. Both cases highlight a growing risk: professional organizations publishing AI-generated content without sufficient human review, damaging their credibility in the process.

AI hallucinations occur when a generative AI system produces information that sounds plausible but is factually incorrect or entirely fabricated. When such errors appear in professional research reports, the consequences extend beyond embarrassment, calling into question the reliability of the underlying research process itself.

Read in a separate article how to spot and avoid AI hallucinations.