Indian enterprises are aggressively adopting Artificial Intelligence at a large scale, outpacing global counterparts, but a Deloitte report highlights a significant skills gap that needs to be addressed for sustained success.
IMAGE: Illustration: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
Key Points
- Indian enterprises are leading global peers in large-scale AI adoption across key business functions like product development and marketing.
- A significant AI capability gap exists in India, with fewer companies possessing high levels of AI expertise compared to the global average.
- Regulatory and compliance demands, along with resistance to change, are the primary obstacles to AI integration in Indian organisations.
- Indian organisations anticipate significant productivity improvements from AI implementation in the near term.
- Deloitte’s report highlights the strategic shift from AI experimentation to embedding AI into core business operations in India.
Indian enterprises are outpacing their global counterparts in terms of large-scale adoption of Artificial Intelligence, with most organisations expecting to increase their AI spending next year, according to a report by Deloitte.
However, this rapid deployment contrasts with a significant capability gap, as India reports lower levels of specialist AI expertise compared to the global average.
The ‘State of AI in the Enterprise’ report for 2026 revealed that Indian firms are advancing past trials to lead global peers in large-scale AI adoption across key functions.
“… At-scale deployment is strongest in Product Development (62 per cent), Strategy and Operations (56 per cent), Marketing & Sales (55 per cent) and Supply Chain (48 per cent), signalling that AI is increasingly embedded into functions that drive growth, efficiency, and competitive advantage.
“40 per cent of Indian respondents report significant or full usage, compared with a global average of approximately 28 per cent, indicating that Indian organisations are not only piloting AI, but are increasingly operationalising it to unlock near-term productivity and business outcomes,” Deloitte said.
The State of AI Insights from India is part of Deloitte’s global State of AI in the Enterprise survey. The India edition captures responses from over 200 business and technology leaders.
The report noted that 94 per cent of Indian organisations expect their AI budgets to increase over the next year.
AI Skills Gap and Implementation Challenges
Despite the aggressive rollout, there is a significant capability gap. Deloitte observed that only 0 to 4 per cent of Indian companies possess a high level of AI expertise, lagging behind the global average of 2 to 8 per cent.
The report lists regulatory and compliance demands as the leading obstacle for AI integration (39 per cent), followed by resistance to change (34 per cent).
Organisations report relatively lower pressure from cost (12 per cent) and infrastructure (5 per cent) constraints, indicating that governance readiness and operating-model change are the more immediate limiting factors for scale.
Expected Benefits of AI Adoption
Even with these obstacles, Indian organisations expect tangible near-term value from AI. Nearly all respondents anticipate productivity improvements, with 97 per cent expecting productivity to increase.
“Indian enterprises are entering a defining phase in their AI journey, where ambition is translating into enterprise-wide execution. The momentum we are seeing reflects a strategic shift from experimentation to embedding AI into the fabric of how organisations create value and compete.
“The next chapter will be shaped less by access to technology and more by the ability to build institutional capability, strengthen governance, and align people with new ways of working. Organisations that invest in trust and skills today will be better positioned to convert early gains into sustained advantage,” said S Anjani Kumar, Partner, Deloitte India.
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