PwC joins KPMG, EY and Deloitte in Big Four's AI troubles

PwC Middle East has come under scrutiny after an investigation found fabricated citations, broken links and doubtful references in its research reports. The findings deepen concerns over how major consulting firms are checking AI-generated material before publication. Concerns rise over editorial oversight and fact-checking of AI content.PwC has become the latest member of the Big Four consulting firms to come under scrutiny over the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in its research reports after an investigation found fabricated citations, broken links and references to studies that appear not to exist.According to a report by the Financial Times, researchers at AI detection platform GPTZero examined four thought leadership reports published by PwC Middle East over the past two years and found multiple instances of AI-generated "hallucinations".The reports covered subjects ranging from corporate strategy for "agentic" AI and government public services to electric vehicle market forecasts in the Middle East.The investigation found that several citations in the reports were flawed. One report referred to a study on air quality in Riyadh that appears to have been completely fabricated, with no trace of the paper in the cited journal or under the listed authors. Another report included multiple footnotes that led to broken webpages or articles that contained no evidence supporting the claims they were cited for. Researchers also flagged a report that cited a teenage blogger on Medium with around 280 followers to back what was described as a real-world AI success story involving JPMorgan. According to the Financial Times, the initiative actually took place in 2017—years before ChatGPT was launched.In another example, the same claim relating to traffic accidents was repeated three times across two pages, but each instance cited a different source. Investigators also found that the URL of one cybersecurity report citation contained the tracking parameter "utm_source=chatgpt.com", suggesting that the source material had been surfaced through ChatGPT. Responding to the findings, PwC Middle East told the Financial Times that it "takes the accuracy of our published research seriously" and is updating a limited number of supporting citations across the affected reports.PWC JOINS OTHER BIG FOUR FIRMS CAUGHT IN AI ERRORSPwC is not the first Big Four firm to face questions over AI-generated content.Earlier this year, KPMG withdrew its global report titled "Redefining Excellence in the Age of Agentic AI" after companies and organisations named in the report complained that several of the case studies and achievements attributed to them had been fabricated. According to the Financial Times, the report contained false claims and bogus case studies generated using AI.EY Canada also removed a report on loyalty rewards programmes from its website after researchers identified AI hallucinations, inaccurate citations and references to studies that did not exist. The firm later said it was reviewing the circumstances that led to the report's publication.Deloitte, too, came under scrutiny after preparing a healthcare report for the Canadian government that reportedly contained multiple factual errors believed to have been generated by AI tools, according to earlier media reports cited by the Financial Times.GROWING QUESTIONS OVER AI OVERSIGHTThe latest findings add to growing scrutiny over how major consulting firms are using generative AI while simultaneously advising governments and businesses on AI adoption and governance.The repeated incidents have raised questions about editorial oversight, fact-checking and the need for human verification before AI-generated material is published, particularly in reports that are intended to guide corporate strategy and public policy.While firms continue to promote AI as a productivity tool, the recent incidents involving PwC, KPMG, EY and Deloitte underline the risks of relying on generative AI without adequate human review, especially in high-impact research and thought leadership publicationsThe latest episode highlights a growing irony for the consulting industry. The same firms that advise governments and multinational companies on adopting AI are themselves struggling to ensure AI-generated content in their own reports is accurate, properly sourced and independently verified.- EndsPublished On: Jul 31, 2026 09:35 IST