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86% Indian Employees Use AI, But ROI and Governance Lag Behind

A new ISACA report reveals that 86% of Indian employees use artificial intelligence at work, but only 35% say AI's return on investment has met or exceeded expectations. While 49% of Indian organizations now have a formal AI policy, up from 32% in 2025, 23% have only limited policy and 20% have none. Indian respondents primarily use AI to increase productivity (56%), automate repetitive tasks (55%), and create written content (51%). The report also found that 57% of organizations plan to increase AI-related jobs in the next year, up from 46% in 2025.

Key Points: 86% Indian Employees Use AI: Report

  • 86% Indian employees use AI at work
  • Only 35% say AI ROI met/exceeded expectations
  • 49% of Indian orgs have formal AI policy, up from 32% in 2025
  • 57% of orgs will increase AI jobs in next 12 months
2 min read

86 pc Indian employees use AI, but ROI and governance lag: Report

86% of Indian employees use AI, but only 35% see ROI met/exceeded expectations. Governance lags as 23% have limited AI policy, says ISACA report.

"Return on investment in AI doesn't arrive on schedule; it's the result of sustained investment in people, processes, and governance structures. - Keith Bloomfield‑DeWeese"

New Delhi, May 11

While 86 per cent of employees in India use artificial intelligence at work, only 35 per cent say AI's return on investment has met or exceeded expectations, higher than the global average of 22 per cent, a report said on Monday.

The report from ISACA said that 49 per cent of organisations in India now report having a formal, comprehensive AI policy, up from 32 per cent in 2025 and above the 38 per cent global rate.

However, 23 per cent of organisations said they have only a limited policy and 20 per cent have no active policy, it said.

"AI has become embedded in day-to-day work; however, governance and operational readiness continue to lag," the report said, adding that after a global poll of over 3,400 global digital trust professionals, including 265 from India.

Roughly 21 per cent of Indians said they believe it is too early to tell the ROI, 21 per cent cited limited ROI so far, and 18 per cent were unaware of the returns.

Indian respondents most often use AI to increase productivity (56 per cent), automate repetitive tasks (55 per cent), create written content (51 per cent) and analyse large amounts of data (42 per cent).

Roughly 82 per cent of respondents said AI skills are very important to their profession, and 35 per cent said their organisations now train all employees on AI, up from 22 per cent in 2025.

Around 57 per cent of Indian respondents said that their organisation will increase AI-related jobs in the next 12 months, up from 46 per cent in 2025.

"There's enormous pressure on organizations to show that AI is paying off, but the pulse poll reveals a more honest picture: most organisations aren't yet sure whether it has," said Keith Bloomfield‑DeWeese, Senior Manager of AI Product Development at ISACA.

"Return on investment in AI doesn't arrive on schedule; it's the result of sustained investment in people, processes, and governance structures," Keith added.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Sneha F
Honestly, the ROI lag doesn't surprise me. In my office, everyone uses ChatGPT for quick tasks, but nobody tracks if it actually saves time. We need metrics! Also, 23% having only limited policy is scary - data security concerns toh hain hi.
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Rahul R
Interesting numbers. 35% meeting ROI expectations is still higher than global 22%, so India is doing something right. But 18% not even knowing the returns? That's a red flag. Governance can't be an afterthought - we need it from day one.
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Priya S
I use AI daily for data analysis and it's a game-changer. But the report is right - without proper governance, it's chaos. Our company introduced AI policy only last year, and now we have clear guidelines on what's okay and what's not. More firms need this.
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Michael C
57% planning to increase AI jobs is promising. But I worry about the skills gap - 82% say AI skills are important, yet only 35% train all employees. We're setting people up for failure if we don't invest in proper upskilling. The potential is huge, but execution matters.
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Kavya N
The productivity gains are real - I cut my reporting time by 50% using AI. But the governance part is crucial. We can't have employees feeding sensitive client data into public AI tools without policies. Kudos to ISACA for highlighting this gap. Better late than never!

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