Around 4 in 5 Indian CTOs say AI is creating new roles that did not exist a few years ago: LinkedIn Research

As AI reshapes how work gets done, the role of the Indian Chief Technology Officer (CTO) is evolving in real time. New research from LinkedIn, the world’s largest professional network, reveals that this shift is already well underway. More than nine in ten (93%) Indian CTOs say their role is increasingly focused on helping organisations adapt to future ways of working. 79% also say their role has expanded to include responsibilities that were not part of their remit one year ago.

The CTO mandate is expanding beyond technology in India

The pace of AI adoption is changing what organisations expect from technology leaders, with 84% of Indian CTOs saying their role is being actively redefined in real time. As their responsibilities continue to evolve, CTOs are also navigating growing expectations around AI implementation and business impact. Nearly eight in ten (79%) say their role is changing faster than their company can make decisions, while more than half (56%) identify balancing long-term AI transformation with short-term performance demands as one of their biggest leadership challenges today.

Malai Lakshmanan, Head of India Engineering, LinkedIn, said,”With over 9 in 10 Indian CTOs acknowledging that their role has shifted toward helping organisations adapt to the future of work, technology leadership today extends far beyond managing systems and infrastructure. As AI adoption moves from experimentation to scale, success depends as much on people as it does on technology. Employees need the skills and confidence to make AI part of how they work every day, which is why closer collaboration between CTOs and talent leaders has become essential. The organisations that create the most value from AI will be those that invest as heavily in workforce readiness and continuous learning as they do in technology.”

Building AI-ready teams now starts with deeper partnerships between CTOs and CHROs

Half of Indian CTOs (51%) say strengthening partnership between CTOs and CHROs is the single most critical factor in building an effective AI-enabled workforce and 89% of CTOs already report working closely with their CHROs. Continuous learning is emerging as a key priority in this effort, with more than nine in ten (92%) CTOs saying ongoing skill-building is essential to keeping pace with change. At the same time, innovation remains the ultimate goal, with over nine in ten (91%) CTOs identifying it as the most important outcome of their organisation’s AI investments.

The next AI challenge for CTOs is employee trust, not adoption

Nearly four in five (79%) Indian CTOs say AI is creating new roles that did not exist just a few years ago. This is reflected in LinkedIn’s Jobs on the Rise 2026 list, where Prompt Engineer and AI Engineer are the fastest-growing roles in India. Over four in five (81%) Indian CTOs also say leaders face pressure to move faster on AI than they can effectively measure its impact. As organisations adapt to these changes, maintaining employee trust as AI reshapes roles, responsibilities, and expectations has emerged as the most commonly cited challenge AI introduces to C-suite decision-making.