Key Points

Agentic AI is defined as the technology that powers AI agents so they can act autonomously without human oversight.

The report, by American cloud-based software company Salesforce based on a survey of 200 global human resource executives, reveals that digital labour isn't just a trend -- it's a business strategy revolution.

Over the next two years, they expect AI agent adoption to jump 383 per cent leading to a productivity gain of 41.7 per cent.

The findings reveal that Chief Human Resources Officers (CHROs) in India expect to redeploy nearly a quarter (24.7 per cent) of their workforce as their organisations implement and embrace digital labor.

With 88 per cent of HR chiefs planning to reskill their workers to be more competitive in a market shaped by AI agents, the study highlighted a growing focus on AI reskilling programmes.

Most of these leaders (81 per cent) also agree that soft skills like relationship-building and collaboration will be even more critical as humans work alongside agents.

And yet, 88 per cent say their organisations have yet to implement agentic AI and 63 per cent said employees don't yet understand how digital labour will impact their work.

As agentic AI reshapes the workplace -- and the skills workers need to succeed -- understanding how HR leaders are ensuring organisational resilience is critically important.

"We're in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime transformation of work with digital labour that is unlocking new levels of productivity, autonomy, and agency at a speed never before thought possible," said Nathalie Scardino, President and Chief People Officer at Salesforce.

"Every industry must redesign jobs, reskill, and redeploy talent -- and every employee will need to learn new human, agent, and business skills to thrive in the digital labour revolution," Scardino said.

Key insights from the research show that HR leaders in India believe digital labour is the future and its integration is critical to their role. About 85 per cent believe that within five years, most workforces will have humans and AI agents/digital labour working together.

Despite the urgency of digital labour, many Indian HR chiefs are still in the early planning phases of preparing their workforce. Just 12 per cent of Indian CHROs say their organisation has fully implemented agentic AI. More than 60 per cent of Indian HR chiefs say their employees remain unaware of how AI agents will impact their work.

With 88 per cent of businesses yet to embrace agentic AI, CHROs in India direct near-term efforts toward AI implementation -- including IT and research and development.

- IANS