A new study by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Access Partnership reveals that 83% of organisations in India have appointed Chief AI Officers (CAIOs) to fast-track the adoption of generative AI, with another 15% planning to do so by 2026.
According to the study ‘Generative AI Adoption Index,’ 64% of Indian companies prioritised generative AI in their 2025 budgets, resulting in the appointments.
The appointment of a dedicated AI executive is a result of organisations having Gen AI as the top priority in their budget for 2025 (64%), followed by security (21%) and compute (10%).
“We see a growing recognition of AI as a transformative technology that requires strategic leadership at the highest levels and a structured approach to change management,” said Satinder Pal Singh, head of solution architecture, AWS India and South Asia.
The study surveyed 415 senior IT decision-makers across sectors, including financial services, ICT, manufacturing, and retail. It highlights a shift in leadership, with CEOs, CTOs, and CIOs previously leading AI efforts, but now giving way to dedicated AI executives due to the complexity and scale of integrating generative AI.
The report points to an increased focus on developing organisation-wide AI strategies. While 75% of organisations currently lack a change management strategy to support employees through AI transitions, this number is projected to fall to 9% by the end of 2026.
GenAI Roles in Demand
Nearly 98% of organisations are already using generative AI tools, with a majority actively experimenting. Roughly half are expected to move to production by 2025. Currently, 43% of organisations have fully integrated generative AI into their workflows.
Many organisations have developed training plans to address growing AI talent demands. However, decision-makers cite challenges such as unclear skilling needs, implementation uncertainty, and budget constraints. Besides, limited understanding of employees’ skilling needs, uncertainty about effective training methods, and budget constraints hamper training and hiring.
Despite these hurdles, 99% of organisations expect to hire for generative AI roles in 2025.
Organisations are taking a hybrid approach to AI adoption. Nearly two-thirds of the firms surveyed plan to use custom applications built on out-of-the-box models, while many are opting for fine-tuned models enhanced with proprietary data.
Only 42% plan to use out-of-the-box models with minimal customisation.
To support this transition, AWS has launched a $100 million Generative AI Innovation Centre to connect organisations with AI experts. The company also offers over 80 free courses through AWS Skill Builder and works with partners such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro to support industry-specific implementations.
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