New Delhi [India], November 3 : Indian companies are increasingly allowing artificial intelligence (AI) systems to independently handle business processes, with 28 per cent of surveyed business leaders saying generative AI completes defined tasks from beginning to end without routine human approval.
However, despite growing confidence and reported improvements in operational efficiency, a majority of businesses are still struggling to demonstrate financial returns from their AI investments, according to a report by Avanade.
The report found that 82 per cent of Indian business leaders surveyed have high or complete confidence in their organisations' use of AI. However, 75 per cent said AI has yet to deliver returns that justify the money and effort spent on the technology.
It stated, “82 per cent of Indian business leaders surveyed have high or complete confidence in their AI use, but only 23 per cent say their teams have fundamentally reshaped how they operate around it”
The findings highlight a gap between the growing adoption of AI in business operations and the ability of companies to measure its financial impact.
Indian respondents also showed a greater willingness to allow AI systems to operate independently within defined processes compared with other surveyed markets.
Around 28 per cent said generative AI in their teams completes defined processes end-to-end without routine human approval, against the average of 19 per cent across all surveyed markets.
At the same time, only 24 per cent of Indian respondents said their organisations require explicit human approval before generative AI acts, compared with 29 per cent across the surveyed markets.
Despite this greater autonomy, measuring the financial value of AI remains a challenge. The report found that 74 per cent of Indian respondents said their organisations had yet to formally calculate AI returns on investment (ROI) and have them reviewed by finance teams or senior leadership.
The survey also found that Indian businesses are reporting improvements in day-to-day operations. India ranked first among the surveyed markets for respondents reporting significant, measurable improvements in operational efficiency, at 44 per cent, compared with 36 per cent across all markets.
Similarly, 42 per cent of Indian respondents reported significant improvements in employee productivity, against the global surveyed-market average of 36 per cent.
The report also shared that integrating AI with existing core systems and data was identified as a major challenge by 48 per cent of Indian respondents, while 41 per cent cited data, cloud or integration limitations as barriers to becoming an AI leader.
Commenting on the findings, Achal Kataria, Managing Director and CEO of Avanade India, said, "Indian enterprises are leading the world on AI ambition. They are moving past pilots faster than any other market, trusting AI with real autonomy and seeing clear gains in efficiency and productivity. The next stage is proving that value in financial terms. Three in four leaders tell us AI has yet to deliver returns that justify the investment, and a similar share have yet to formally measure them."
The report is based on research conducted by independent market research specialist Vanson Bourne, which interviewed 3,600 business decision-makers during August and September 2026. The respondents represented organisations with annual global revenues exceeding USD 500 million across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia-Pacific and Japan.
The surveyed industries included financial services, consumer goods and services, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, distribution and transport.