(AI) AGENTS OF CHANGE

How Indian enterprises are accelerating AI adoption, moving beyond assistive tools to deploying agentic systems, and marking a fundamental shift in how they operate, scale and deliver value

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FOR MUCH OF the past decade, artificial intelligence (AI) in the enterprise has been largely assistive.

It flagged risks, generated insights, and automated discrete tasks, but decision-making remained in human hands. That balance is beginning to change. A new class of systems, commonly described as agentic AI, is now being deployed across Indian enterprises with the ability to plan, act, and adapt autonomously within defined limits.

According to EY India’s C-suite GenAI survey of 200 enterprises, adoption is accelerating. About 47% of organisations now operate multiple GenAI use cases, 10% are scaling them across business functions, and nearly half report that more than 21% of their proofs of concept have moved into production. The shift, EY says, reflects a broader transition as AI evolves “from assistive to agentic’, redefining how work is organised and governed.

Enterprises are increasingly experimenting with hybrid pods of humans and Al agents, combining scale and precision without adding headcount. The appeal is clear with faster decisions, reduced operational friction, and the ability to run complex workflows continuously.

Yet the transition is uneven. EY’s survey shows that 64.5% of enterprises cite data governance and security as “very severe” challenges, while 78% struggle with system integration. Despite this, companies are pressing ahead, often accepting imperfection in exchange for speed.