In the cacophony of our digital age, amidst the ceaseless march of technology, India stands at a curious crossroads. The marvels of Artificial Intelligence — particularly the enchanting promise of generative AI — have swept across boardrooms and tech summits worldwide, yet have left the average Indian consumer largely untouched.
A recent study by Google and Kantar India, surveying 8,000 individuals across 18 cities, concluded with a revealing statistic: only 31% had experimented with generative AI tools. In a country where mobile technology has penetrated the remotest hamlets and digital payments have transformed the subziwala’s stall, this sluggish embrace of AI speaks volumes.
This reluctance is not borne of aversion, but unfamiliarity. Nearly 69% of respondents admitted to never having used an AI tool or application. It is a paradox: a nation that is the engine room of the world’s IT outsourcing, whose youth fill the ranks of Silicon Valley, is itself hesitant at the threshold of AI’s transformative possibilities.
Enterprise India, on the other hand, marches briskly ahead. A Boston Consulting Group report last November revealed that 30% of Indian enterprises are actively integrating AI into operations, surpassing even the global average of 26%. Sectors such as banking, software services, and finance have found in AI an eager accomplice for efficiency and innovation. But the common citizen — the student, the trader, the homemaker — remains perched on the sidelines, an observer rather than a participant.
Manish Gupta, senior director at Google DeepMind, captures the essence of the dilemma succinctly: in a world bewitched by technological fireworks, the true measure of innovation lies not in spectacle but in its ability to enhance everyday lives. It is this bridge — between the marvel and the mundane — that India has yet to cross.
Yet, the future is not cloaked in gloom. Beneath the statistics lies a potent undercurrent of optimism. The same study revealed that 75% of respondents were willing to embrace AI collaboration, to enhance creativity (77%), boost productivity (77%), and improve communication (73%). The desire exists; it is the introduction that is missing.
Among those who have already invited AI into their routines, the dividends are obvious. Productivity gains (93%), creativity enhancements (85%), and assistance with complex tasks (80%) have been widely reported by existing users of tools like Google’s Gemini. The technology delivers; it simply needs to be better understood.
Meanwhile, the world gallops forward. OpenAI releases its GPT-4o model; Anthropic unveils Claude’s research envelope; Microsoft integrates Copilot Vision into Edge. Google, not to be outpaced, has announced Veo 2 video generation for Indian Gemini users and a real-time upgraded Gemini Live experience for Android devices such as the Pixel 9 and Galaxy S25 Ultra.
India cannot remain a spectator in this unfolding drama. The answer lies not merely in corporate launches but in grassroots literacy. AI must descend from the neon-lit malls to the dusty lanes, from boardrooms to bazaars. It must be articulated in the languages of the heartland, made as intuitive as a WhatsApp call, and woven into the fabric of daily life.
India’s demographic dividend is its greatest weapon and its greatest risk. Harnessed rightly, AI can become the lever that catapults millions into a new era of empowerment. Ignored or delayed, it could widen the gap between innovation and opportunity.
History teaches us that technologies do not wait. They either embrace you or bypass you. In this quiet contest for the future, India must choose — and choose swiftly.