93% of Indian leaders to adopt AI agents within 18 months: Microsoft Work Trend Index

Indian organisations are moving quickly to embed artificial intelligence (AI) into their operations, with the majority of business leaders signalling a strategic reset in the way work is structured, according to Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index for India.

The report found that 93% of Indian leaders plan to use AI agents to extend workforce capabilities within the next 12 to 18 months. Nearly two-thirds of leaders cited productivity gains as a top priority, while 90% said this is a pivotal year to rethink core strategies and operations, the highest proportion globally.

Frontier firms lead AI-driven transformation

Microsoft described India’s most forward-looking companies, termed “Frontier Firms”, as those reimagining work by building human–AI collaboration into their processes. The report noted that 59% of leaders are already using AI agents to automate workflows or business processes across entire teams.

At the launch of the report, Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India & South Asia, said the country was “firmly in its AI-first era”, with organisations embedding AI into daily operations to drive transformation. He added that AI was emerging as a “thought partner”, fuelling creativity, accelerating decision-making and reshaping collaboration.

New roles emerge in an AI-powered workplace

The findings also suggest organisations are preparing for new roles linked to AI integration. About 92% of leaders said their company is considering creating AI-specific roles, while 57% expect teams to design multi-agent systems to manage complex tasks. Roles such as “AI Workflow Designers” and “Agent Bosses” are expected to become more common as structures evolve.

Skilling as a cornerstone of change

Upskilling is seen as central to this transition, with 51% of leaders identifying it as a priority over the next 12–18 months. Around 63% of managers believe AI training will become a core team responsibility within the next five years.

Microsoft highlighted that 66% of employees and 80% of leaders in India are already familiar with AI agents, suggesting high levels of workforce readiness.

Global AI adoption gains pace

The report also outlined global adoption of Microsoft’s AI tools. Microsoft 365 Copilot apps have surpassed 100 million monthly active users, while more than 230,000 organisations are using Copilot Studio to build and deploy custom AI agents. In FY25, customers created more than three million agents using Copilot Studio and SharePoint, with over one million built in the last quarter alone.

India’s position in the AI-powered future

According to Microsoft, Indian enterprises are moving beyond pilot projects to operationalise AI at scale. With leadership commitment, workforce readiness and growing technical capacity, the report suggests India is well-positioned to play a leading role in shaping the future of AI-powered work.