India's Enterprises Embrace GenAI Amid Rapid Advancements

A survey by Ernst & Young reveals significant investment in Generative AI (GenAI) among Indian enterprises. While only 15% have GenAI in production, AI adoption is rapidly advancing in customer service, operations, sales, and other sectors. The integration of AI tools promises productivity gains and transformative impacts.

A recent survey by Ernst & Young reveals that 36% of enterprises in India have already budgeted and begun investing in Generative AI (GenAI), while an additional 24% are in the experimental phase. Over recent years, GenAI innovation has progressed at an astounding rate globally, including in India.

The report titled 'How much productivity can GenAI unlock in India? The AIdea of India: 2025', highlights that the technology sector is leading the charge in GenAI adoption, followed by life sciences and financial services. However, only 15% of Indian enterprises have implemented GenAI workloads in production, and a mere 8% can accurately measure and allocate AI costs.

Ernst & Young describes these findings as unsurprising, noting the challenges in integrating innovation into products and services. Enterprises demand clarity on return on investments and guarantees as they pursue digital transformation. Nonetheless, progress in AI has made the technology 'good enough' to scale across various applications.

The survey suggests that customer service, operations, and sales and marketing functions are at the forefront of AI adoption. The report forecasts that AI and GenAI models will become integral to enterprise functions, with AI-powered chat, voice, and local language tools already making significant impacts.

Further integration of AI agents in sectors like IT, finance, and healthcare is set to reshape traditional work methods, presenting both opportunities and challenges for Indian professionals. E&Y notes that reducing AI model costs has made them more accessible to enterprises.

The emergence of an Indic AI ecosystem is anticipated, leveraging Indic LLMs (large language models) using open-source models enhanced with Indian language datasets. The government-backed Bhashini project aims to create an open-source Indic language dataset, expanding digital accessibility in Indian languages. Overall, E&Y predicts that GenAI will drive productivity, impacting millions of workers and redefining the future of work.

(With inputs from agencies.)