The next phase of AI may not be chatbots. It may be personal AI agents that handle tasks, talk to brands, and make decisions on our behalf.

According to Adobe's 2026 AI and Digital Trends Report, Indian consumers appear more ready for that future than anyone else in the Asia Pacific region. The study found that 60% of Indian consumers are interested in creating their own personal AI agent, the highest level of interest among surveyed markets in the region.

The report is based on responses from 7,000 consumers and business leaders globally, including 300 consumers and 250 executives in India.

Indians are surprisingly comfortable letting AI handle interactions

Adobe's data suggests Indian consumers are not just interested in AI tools, but are increasingly comfortable handing over real-world tasks to them.

More than half of respondents (55%) said they would interact with a brand's AI agent if one was available. Meanwhile, 58% said they are comfortable with AI agents interacting with other AI agents, and 61% said they would be happy for an AI assistant to communicate with a company's human representative on their behalf.

The findings point to a future where customer support, bookings, shopping, and even negotiations could increasingly happen between software agents rather than people.

India also recorded the highest level of personal confidence in adopting new technologies, with 26% of respondents describing themselves as highly confident when it comes to trying new digital tools.

AI is already influencing shopping decisions

The research suggests that AI is becoming a significant part of how Indian consumers discover and buy products.
According to the study:

• 65% use AI to find personalised product recommendations.
• 60% use AI-powered customer support or service tools.
• 62% say they are open to shopping through a virtual AI concierge.

For brands, that means AI is no longer just a backend productivity tool. It is increasingly becoming a customer-facing channel that influences purchasing decisions.

Trust remains the biggest challenge

While enthusiasm for AI is high, consumers are also clear about what they expect from companies deploying it.
The most important reassurance, according to respondents, is transparency. Around 21% said clear labelling of AI systems is the most important factor when interacting with an AI agent. Another 17% said they want the ability to switch to a human representative whenever needed.

Interestingly, 61% said they would stop engaging with a brand if they discovered they were speaking with an AI when they believed they were interacting with a human.

At the same time, consumers are not necessarily opposed to AI itself. About 21% said they do not care whether a company uses AI as long as their needs are being met.

Perhaps the clearest message for brands is this: 76% of respondents said AI-powered interactions should still feel human rather than robotic.

Businesses are interested, but many are not ready

While consumers appear eager to embrace AI agents, businesses are still working through the operational challenges.

Only a small percentage of organisations have deployed agentic AI at scale. According to the report, just 7% of companies have implemented it broadly for marketing content creation and customer support, while only 4% have deployed it widely for onboarding and customer education.

The biggest barriers cited by Indian executives include:

• Data integration and quality issues (69%)
• Talent and skills shortages (65%)
• Difficulty measuring ROI (62%)
• Infrastructure limitations (48%)

Internal resistance to change was also identified as a major obstacle, with 53% of executives saying it remains a key challenge.

Generative AI is already delivering results

Even though agentic AI adoption remains early, generative AI appears to be having a measurable impact inside organisations.

According to the study, 71% of businesses said generative AI has improved the speed and volume of content creation, while 67% said it has enabled non-creative teams to produce content more effectively.

That suggests many organisations are still in the phase of using AI as a productivity tool before moving toward more autonomous AI systems capable of handling customer-facing tasks.

The bigger picture

The most interesting takeaway from Adobe's report is not that Indians are enthusiastic about AI. That much has been clear for some time.

What's more notable is how comfortable consumers appear to be with the idea of AI acting on their behalf. From shopping recommendations and customer service to agent-to-agent interactions, Indian consumers seem more willing than their regional peers to let software take a more active role in everyday decisions.

Whether businesses are ready for that shift is a different question altogether.