With a whopping 90% of Indian business leaders identifying 2025 as a pivotal year to rethink core strategies and workforce models, India leads the world in AI-driven leadership transformation. With 64% prioritising productivity gains and 93% confident they’ll use digital agents to expand workforce capacity in the next 12–18 months, leadership is embracing AI as a strategic lever for transformation. The focus is shifting from incremental change to foundational reinvention.
There is a transformative shift underway in how Indian organisations are preparing for the future of work. According to the findings of Microsoft’s 2025 Work Trend Index, Indian leaders are moving with confidence and urgency to integrate AI across their organisations, with 93% intending to use AI agents to extend workforce capabilities in the next 12-18 months.
Frontier firms are redefining the rules of productivity at scale
India’s most forward-looking organisations—what Microsoft calls Frontier Firms—are leading the charge in reimagining work. These firms are not just adopting AI; they’re redesigning operations around human-agent collaboration. With 59% of leaders already using AI agents to automate workstreams or business processes across entire teams, the shift from traditional hierarchies to fluid, adaptive structures is well underway. This transformation is enabling organisations to scale with agility, speed, and purpose.
Speaking at an event to launch the India report, Puneet Chandok, President, Microsoft India & South Asia, commented on India’s readiness to lead an AI-powered future of work: “India is firmly in its AI-first era, with AI agility accelerating at an unprecedented pace. We’re seeing a workforce that’s not just adopting AI, but embedding it into the fabric of everyday work—leveraging its speed, precision, and 24/7 availability to drive meaningful transformation. Leaders are scaling operations with AI emerging as a true thought partner—fuelling creativity, fast-tracking decisions, and redefining collaboration.”
According to Chandok, this shift is turning AI’s promise into proof and profitability—powered by productivity, innovation, and a fundamentally new way of working. India’s frontier firms are already taking shape. “Built on intelligence-on-tap and hybrid teams of humans and agents, these organisations scale faster, operate with agility, and deliver value at speed. The blueprint for the future of work is being written right here.”
Organisations are creating new roles for an AI-powered future
The report further adds that as AI becomes embedded in daily workflows, organisations are preparing for a new generation of roles. From agent bosses and AI workflow designers to software operators, the organisational chart is being rewritten. The data unveils that 92% of leaders say their company is considering adding AI-specific roles, and 57% expect teams to build multi-agent systems to automate complex tasks. This signals a move toward dynamic, AI-integrated teams where every employee becomes an architect of change.
Skilling is the cornerstone of transformation
To support this evolution, organisations are doubling down on skilling. 51% of leaders cite upskilling as their top priority over the next 12–18 months, with 63% of managers expecting AI training to become a core team responsibility within five years. This isn’t just about technical proficiency—it’s about building AI fluency, ethical awareness, and cross-functional agility to enable seamless human-agent collaboration across business functions.
India is poised for future readiness
The findings underscore India’s readiness to lead in the AI-powered future. With 66% of employees and 80% of leaders already familiar with AI agents, and a workforce eager to treat AI as both a thought partner and a productivity tool, the foundation is strong. As organizations prioritize expanding capacity with digital labor and embrace new ways of working, India is not just adapting to change—it’s shaping it.