'Want real impact on my P&L': AI honeymoon is over. India Inc now wants measurable business impact

After nearly three years of experimentation with generative AI, Indian enterprises are entering a new phase, one where chatbots and flashy demonstrations are no longer enough.

As AI adoption matures, boardrooms are shifting the conversation from proof of concept to proof of business value, with CEOs increasingly demanding measurable impact on the bottom line.

According to Ankur Kothari, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Automation Anywhere, the focus has moved decisively from isolated AI use cases to enterprise-wide transformation.

"One thing I'm seeing very clearly is that leadership in Indian enterprises is asking that I don't want just these fancy use cases. I want real impact on my P&L," Kothari said during an interaction with Business Today on the sidelines of its flagship event Imagine India.

"Initially, everyone was trying to figure out how to use AI. Now they want production-grade deployments that actually get work done."

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The shift comes as many companies move beyond the first wave of generative AI adoption, which largely revolved around copilots, chatbots and content generation. Enterprises are now looking to automate end-to-end business processes rather than deploy AI in isolated pockets.

Kothari noted that while some Indian enterprises remain in the experimentation stage, early adopters are already reimagining entire business functions and aiming to make departments autonomous over the next two to three years.

Instead of scattered AI pilots, companies are increasingly choosing a few strategic functions and deploying AI at scale.

The change is also being driven by competitive pressures. Rather than viewing AI purely as a cost-saving tool, businesses are beginning to see it as a strategic lever to drive growth, improve customer experience and gain market share.

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"If you just look at it like cost reduction, you will lose sight of competitive advantage. Companies will have to look at AI strategically and ask whether it can help capture market share because if your competitor moves first, you're forced to catch up," he said.

Kothari believes the biggest hurdle is no longer the technology itself. Instead, companies are grappling with how to commit to an AI strategy amid rapid innovation. According to him, enterprises are no longer questioning whether AI delivers returns, but how to deploy it at scale with the right governance and operating model.