According to a report by Ernst & Young, 36 per cent of enterprises in India have allocated budgets and begun investing in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), while an additional 24 per cent are in the experimental phase.
The pace of innovation in GenAI has accelerated significantly in recent years, including within India. However, the actual business value derived from these technologies remains low, with only 15 per cent of Indian enterprises reporting GenAI workloads in production and just 8 per cent able to fully assess and allocate AI-related costs.
Despite this, advancements in AI have reached a point where it is now considered sufficiently effective for scaling across various applications. The E&Y survey indicates that customer service, operations, and sales and marketing functions are at the forefront of AI adoption. Tools powered by AI, such as chat and voice systems, as well as those supporting regional languages, are already making a notable impact, with expectations for continued growth in this area.
Furthermore, the integration of AI agents into sectors like IT, finance, customer service, and healthcare are anticipated to transform traditional work processes. This evolution will present both opportunities and challenges for professionals in India.
On the cost front, E&Y notes that the expenses associated with utilising AI models have significantly decreased, making them more accessible to businesses. Looking ahead, a robust Indic AI ecosystem is expected to develop to address specific needs within India. There has already been a surge in Indic large language models (LLMs) that utilise open-source frameworks refined with datasets in Indian languages.
