India Leads Global AI Adoption: 79% of Companies to Increase AI Spending in 2025

India Leads in AI Adoption and Investment

India is emerging as a global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) adoption, with a significant majority of companies planning to increase their AI budgets in the coming years. According to the Freshworks' AI Workplace Report, 79% of Indian organizations intend to boost their AI spending in 2025, with an anticipated average increase of 41% from 2024 – the largest globally 2

2

.

Widespread AI Usage and Expertise

The adoption of AI in India's workforce is remarkably high. While globally only 26% of workers use AI daily, in India this figure nearly doubles to 45% 2

2

. Furthermore, 74% of Indian professionals consider themselves knowledgeable or expert in AI, significantly above the global average of 55% 2

2

.

This high level of adoption is reflected in the comfort and trust Indian workers have in AI:

• 91% feel at ease using AI tools (compared to 67% globally)
• 90% trust AI to enhance their work processes (versus 66% globally) 2

  2

Mandatory AI Policies and ROI

A key driver of India's AI progress is the implementation of mandatory AI-use policies. India has the highest percentage of employees (65%) required to use AI within all or part of their workload 2

2

. This approach has yielded positive results, with 85% of Indian business leaders reporting improved ROI from their AI investments 1

1

.

AI Training and Workforce Readiness

Indian businesses are prioritizing workforce readiness for AI:

• 90% believe AI solutions are necessary for business success by 2025
• 88% are focusing on AI training to future-proof their workforce 2

  2

These initiatives focus heavily on ongoing security training (50%) and upfront onboarding for AI tools (40%) 2

2

.

Impact on Career Growth

The integration of AI is having a significant impact on career advancement in India. Over two-thirds (67%) of Indian workers report career advancements tied to AI adoption, considerably higher than in the US (34%) and UK (35%) 2

2

3

3

.

Sector-Specific AI Adoption

AI adoption is particularly strong in certain sectors:

• Customer Service: 88% of IT service and customer service professionals in India consider AI chatbots essential to ease their workloads 2

  2

• Marketing and IT: These departments are leading in AI training implementation, with 84% and 81% respectively 2

  2

Challenges and Concerns

Despite the overall positive trend, there are some challenges:

• 21% of Indian workers feel uncomfortable admitting AI use to their managers, fearing they might be seen as incompetent, lazy, or cheating 1

  1

• 40% of Indian workers have spent less than five hours total learning how to use AI 1

  1

Future Outlook

The future of AI in India looks promising:

• 98% of Indian workers say a prospective employer's ability to provide and enable AI tools is a factor in their job search 1

  1

• 88% of Indian workers use AI-powered software weekly, outpacing all other regions 2

  2

As India continues to lead in AI adoption and investment, it is setting new benchmarks in AI integration and innovation, driven by confidence in its ROI and a strong focus on workforce upskilling.