India Inc eyes AI-ready future

As Artificial Intelligence (AI) continues to reshape workplaces, Indian companies are adopting the technology at a faster pace. However, a new report suggests that employee readiness remains a key area of focus for organisations.

According to a report by Kyndryl, only 25 per cent of Indian organisations believe their workforce is fully prepared to use AI effectively. This is a decline of 12 percentage points compared to last year, indicating that while AI adoption is increasing, companies are still working to equip employees with the right skills.

The report found that 56 per cent of Indian organisations have either integrated AI into their business processes or are using it extensively. This indicates that enterprises are moving beyond experimentation and are beginning to depend on AI for regular operations.

However, the gap between adoption and readiness remains important. Around 81 per cent of business leaders in India said they are concerned that AI may advance faster than their workforce, governance systems, and organisational models can keep up with.

The report also highlighted the growing interest in autonomous AI agents. About 84 per cent of Indian companies expect such systems to make important decisions within the next year. Yet, trust continues to be a challenge, with only 28 per cent of organisations saying they fully trust autonomous AI to operate without human supervision.

To prepare for the change, 69 per cent of Indian organisations have already redesigned roles across teams and departments. Another 33 per cent have allocated dedicated budgets and introduced upskilling plans to support AI adoption.

The findings are based on a global survey of 1,100 senior business and technology leaders across eight countries, including India.