93% of Indian Business Leaders Set to Deploy AI Agents Within 18 Months, Microsoft Report Reveals

93% of Indian Leaders Plan to Deploy AI Agents in Next 12-18 Months, Says Microsoft | AIM

92% of leaders are considering AI-specific positions, while 57% expect teams to build multi-agent systems for complex tasks. Indian organisations are moving quickly to embed AI agents into core operations, according to Microsoft's 2025 Work Trend Index. The study reveals that 93% of Indian leaders plan to utilise AI agents to augment workforce capacity within the next 12-18 months, marking the highest level of confidence globally. The report identifies "Frontier Firms" as the companies leading this shift. Microsoft noted that 59% of leaders in these firms are already using AI agents to automate workstreams across teams, pointing to a move from fixed hierarchies toward more adaptive structures. Puneet Chandok, president, Microsoft India & South Asia, said, "India is firmly in its AI-first era, with AI agility accelerating at an unprecedented pace. Leaders are scaling operations with AI emergin

93% of Indian business leaders plan to use AI agents in next 12-18 months : Microsoft - The Economic Times

Highlighting how Indian companies are ahead of their global counterparts in adopting generative AI tools, the report has pointed out productivity, creativity, and security have emerged as the biggest drivers of change.93% of Indian business leaders intend to use AI agents to extend workforce capabilities in the next 12-18 months, Microsoft's Work Trend Index (WTI) 2025 report showed. Released on Wednesday, it showed India's workforce is rapidly moving towards an "AI-first" model. Highlighting how Indian companies are ahead of their global counterparts in adopting generative AI tools, the report has pointed out productivity, creativity, and security have emerged as the biggest drivers of change. Based on a global survey of 31,000 professionals across 31 countries, the report also noted that more than three in four knowledge workers in India already use AI at work. Sectors such as IT services, finance, and manufacturing are among the fastest adopters of AI, it said. The report said India's most forward-looking organizations - what Microsoft calls Frontier Firms - are leading the charge in reimagining work. These firms also report that they can take on more work and offer opportunities for more meaningful work, while being less concerned about AI replacing jobs. "Already, 59% of leaders are using AI agents to automate workstreams or business processes across entire teams, the highest share globally. 90% of Indian business leaders say this is a pivotal year to rethink core strategies and operations," Microsoft said in a statement on WTI 2025. In a move toward dynamic, AI-integrated teams, organizations are also preparing for a new generation of roles such as Agent Bosses, AI Workflow Designers, and Software Operators, it said. Case in point, the report said 51% of leaders cite upskilling as their top priority over the next 12-18 months, with 63% of managers expecting AI training to become a core responsibility within five years. "For us, AI is a massive force multiplier. With respect to Copilot, which is a UI for AI, we've seen tech's growth in the last six months. There's a real opportunity for us to build the AI stack, because every industry, every function, would get invented and reinvented with AI," Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia, said. At the same time, the report highlighted that AI's role is not about replacing humans but augmenting them. "AI has moved from this hype and buzzword to real impact. I don't think the human-in-the-loop model will come away. AI will augment humans. It will not replace humans. And I think this interplay of human judgment, human creativity, human context, along with AI agents, is where the magic will happen," Chandok noted. When asked about the recent SharePoint cyberattack, Chandok emphasised Microsoft's approach to embedding security directly into its AI offerings. "Our Security Copilot is constantly working at looking at threat intelligence. We see around 7,000 password attacks every minute and millions of signals being picked up every hour. Our ability to apply AI for security ensures we are more secure, and security for AI makes sure that platforms like SharePoint and the data you're using remain protected," he said.