Synopsis
Indian AI investment surged significantly, outpacing global growth rates. However, widespread AI readiness and risk assessment processes remain underdeveloped. Many companies deploy AI agents but hesitate with autonomous workflows due to transparency concerns. Fragmented legacy systems and data management issues hinder AI integration and maturity.
ANI India races to deploy AI, but few enterprises are ready for autonomy
Enterprise AI investment in India grew 119% in the past year, ahead of the 110% global growth, according to the ServiceNow Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026. Artificial intelligence (AI) now accounts for 16.6% of the average IT budget of Indian companies and is expected to rise to 21.3% by 2027.
However, the rapid spending is not translating into widespread AI readiness.
Only 22% of Indian enterprises have processes in place for testing, auditing and assessing AI-related risks, the report said. At the same time, 54% of organisations are deploying AI agents, while just 11% have moved to autonomous workflows.
The gap points to a growing caution among Indian businesses around letting AI act independently, particularly as agents get access to company data, systems and decision-making processes.
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Transparency and the risk of misinformation are the biggest concerns, cited by 60% of organisations. Regulatory and compliance complexity follows at 55%, while 50% flagged data privacy and security.
“India has proven it can commit to AI at a scale few markets can match. The next leap will be defined by how Indian enterprises pair that ambition with governance, connected data and workflows that let AI take on more consequential work,” said Kulmeet Bawa, managing director and group vice president, ServiceNow India and SAARC.
The technology infrastructure underneath AI is another we
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