ROI a Key Driver for India's AI Investments: Report Freshworks' new report on AI in the workplace suggests that India is leading in setting new benchmarks in AI integration and innovation
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In the age of artificial intelligence (AI), no one is privy to the technology. Rather, they cannot choose to be. As 2024 concludes, 90 per cent of Indian companies feel that AI solutions are necessary to drive business success by 2025.
Freshworks' new report on AI in the workplace suggests that India is leading in setting new benchmarks in AI integration and innovation. This can be backed by the fact that 79 per cent of organisations plan to increase AI budgets, with an anticipated 41 per cent average rise in spending from 2024.
India's investment in AI– the largest globally– is said to be driven by its confidence in return on investment (ROI).
"The combination of mandatory AI integration and workforce upskilling initiatives is driving India's productivity and innovation to new heights," said Shelton Rego, vice president, Freshworks India.
Where does India compare to the world?
Globally, 26 per cent of workers say they use AI daily, while in India, the figure stands at 45 per cent. Eighty-eight per cent of Indian employees use AI-powered software weekly, a figure which outperforms markets such as the US, UK, and Europe.
Indian professionals holistically perform better than the global average in terms of knowledge or expertise in AI and ease of using AI tools.
AI policies and investment at the workplace
The report signals that a key driver of this progress is India's percentage of employees stating mandatory AI-use policies within their workplaces being the highest. Notably, 65 per cent said they are required to use AI within all or part of their workload, the highest percentage globally. This practice is particularly consistent in IT and Marketing, segments where AI is quick to show results, with it even being "necessary" to some employees.
Out of 90 per cent of Indian companies which note that AI solutions are integral to business success by 2025, 88 per cent of these are focusing on AI training to future-proof their workforce.
These companies are betting big on initiatives such as ongoing security training (50 per cent) and upfront onboarding for AI tools (40 per cent).
Marketing (84 per cent) and IT (81 per cent) teams are leading the race when it comes to the implementation of training the workforce on AI.
AI training and upskilling are being appreciated by professionals as over two-thirds (67 per cent) of Indian workers considered career advancements being tied to AI adoption.
