Artificial intelligence is no longer experimental in Indian businesses. According to new research by HubSpot, 73% of Indian organisations have already moved to hybrid teams where humans and AI work together daily, marking a significant shift toward mainstream AI adoption across the country.
The study reveals that 79% of Indian businesses now apply AI consistently across their workflows rather than limiting it to isolated pilots. This indicates that AI has moved from being a trendy tool to a core part of operations for most companies in India.
The research, conducted by Lonergan Research in February 2026 among 1,007 Indian business leaders, highlights that organisations moving toward higher AI maturity face even greater challenges around trust, legacy systems, and governance.
Scaling AI remains a challenge
However, scaling AI effectively remains challenging. The research identifies several key barriers:
– Trust and reliability issues (50%)
– Legacy systems and technology limitations (49%)
– Skills and change management gaps (46%)
– Poor data quality and integration (44%)
– Governance concerns (37%)
Adarsh Noronha, Country Director, India & SAARC at HubSpot, emphasised the importance of proper context for AI success. “The real competitive differentiator isn’t whether a business is using AI, but whether the AI has access to shared context,” said Noronha. “Without this data-rich foundation, AI outputs don’t reliably translate into better business outcomes. Businesses must combine customer data, process understanding, and continuous learning to turn AI into reliable teammates.”
Indian firms shift toward agentic AI
The report shows clear momentum toward more advanced applications. While 73% of companies are using hybrid human-AI teams, 40% have already deployed fully autonomous AI agents capable of making decisions and executing tasks without constant human approval.
Business leaders are optimistic about the benefits. The top expected outcomes from AI agents in the next 12 months include:
– Faster delivery and time-to-market (57%)
– Improved team capacity and output (52%)
– Freeing employees for higher-value strategic and creative work (51%)
Competition drives AI adoption
The urgency to adopt AI is also driven by intense market competition. Nearly one-third (31%) of Indian organisations fear falling behind rivals who are moving faster with AI. Notably, even mid-sized companies (50–99 employees) are showing strong adoption rates of 73%, suggesting AI is helping level the playing field.