Indian HR Leaders Anticipate 383% Rise in Agentic AI Adoption by 2027 The shift will require every employee to gain new human, agent, and business skills, says Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer, Salesforce
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Agentic AI is set to transform the Indian workplace, with a projected 383 per cent growth in adoption by 2027, according to new research by Salesforce. The survey reveals that only 12 per cent of Indian organisations have implemented agentic AI so far, but this is expected to surge to 58 per cent within two years.
The study highlights that HR leaders foresee major shifts in workforce dynamics. CHROs anticipate redeploying nearly a quarter (24.7 per cent) of their employees to new roles, aiming to enhance productivity by 41.7 per cent and reduce labour costs by 26.2 per cent. Digital labour is no longer viewed as a support function, it is emerging as a strategic imperative.
Despite this momentum, 88 per cent of Indian businesses are yet to fully adopt agentic AI, and 63 per cent of HR leaders say employees are unaware of how digital labour will affect their roles. To bridge this gap, 88 per cent of CHROs are either already reskilling workers (15 per cent) or planning to do so (73 per cent), focusing on both technical and soft skills.
AI literacy has been identified as the most essential skill in the coming years, alongside interpersonal capabilities. As AI agents take on routine tasks, human workers are expected to shift into relationship-focused roles, such as account management and partnerships. More than half (54 per cent) of CHROs plan to redeploy employees into such positions, while others will be reassigned to roles in compliance, ethics, and AI governance.
With research and development (59 per cent) and IT (51 per cent) expected to expand, the HR function is becoming central to navigating the AI transition.
Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer, Salesforce, said the shift will require every employee to gain new human, agent, and business skills.
"We're in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime transformation of work with digital labor that is unlocking new levels of productivity, autonomy, and agency at a speed never before thought possible," said Scardino. "Every industry must redesign jobs, reskill, and redeploy talent — and every employee will need to learn new human, agent, and business skills to thrive in the digital labor revolution."
