India Inc is rapidly weaving artificial intelligence into everyday work, with employees reporting higher productivity and more room to innovate, even as workloads rise and roles expand, a new survey has found.

According to Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2026 India findings, 81% of respondents said AI had improved their efficiency, while 79% said they were more productive than a year ago. Employees also saw greater scope for innovation, with 80% saying technology had created more opportunities to innovate.

But those gains are coming with a heavier workload: 78% said their workload had increased significantly over the past two years, while 73% said AI had increased the number of tasks expected in their role. Nearly three-fourths, or 72%, said they were performing the responsibilities of more than one role.

“India has moved beyond asking whether AI works. The evidence suggests it does,” said Navnit Singh, chairman and regional managing director-India at Korn Ferry. “Employees are embracing AI, becoming more productive and finding new opportunities to innovate.”

India also scored higher than the global average on several measures, with 86% of employees saying they were excited and positive about how emerging technologies such as AI would change their work, compared with 65% globally. On training, 76% said they felt adequately equipped to use AI tools, against 52% globally.

The study, based on responses from 2,000 employees across job levels, including 53 CEOs, suggests Indian companies are moving beyond experimenting with AI tools such as copilots and beginning to embed the technology in work processes. About 73% of respondents said AI was integrated into how work gets done in their role, while 75% said it had helped them reimagine their role. AI fluency has also entered performance management, with 70% saying it is incorporated into employee reviews.

“India’s workforce is not only young, it is notably open to change,” said Sandeep Bhalla, head of consulting-India at Korn Ferry. “Compared with many other markets, employees show greater optimism about AI, a stronger willingness to learn and less resistance to incorporating new tools into the way they work. That combination of a young workforce, ambition and readiness to adapt is helping AI adoption move faster in India.”

The challenge for employers, according to the report, is deciding how AI-created capacity should be used. About 81% of respondents said their organisation was more focused on driving efficiencies than on finding new ways to create value.

“Companies will need to redesign workflows, roles and performance systems around outcomes, identifying what AI can handle and where human judgment, relationships and domain expertise remain essential,” Bhalla added.

Employees are also navigating optimism and insecurity. While 74% believe AI will strengthen their value over the next three years, 60% believe their role could be replaced by AI or technology, down from 68% last year.

The global study surveyed 16,000 professionals across 11 markets.