Enterprise AI investment in India grew 119% over the past year, above the global growth rate of 110%, but only 22% of Indian enterprises have AI testing, auditing and risk-assessment processes in place, according to ServiceNow’s Enterprise AI Maturity Index 2026.
The report found that AI accounts for 16.6% of the average IT budget among Indian organisations, a figure projected to rise to 21.3% by 2027.
While 54% of organisations are deploying AI agents, only 11% have moved to autonomous workflows, indicating a more cautious approach to allowing AI systems to operate independently.
Transparency and the potential for misinformation were cited as a key consideration by 60% of respondents, followed by regulatory and compliance complexity at 55% and data privacy and security at 50%.
The research also found that 74% of organisations identified data accuracy, access and management as areas requiring improvement for AI, while 56% pointed to legacy system integration. Only 18% said they had replaced fragmented legacy systems with an integrated platform.
India’s overall AI governance score stood at 55 out of 100 in the index.
“India has proven it can commit to AI at a scale few markets can match. The next leap will be defined by how Indian enterprises pair that ambition with governance, connected data and workflows that let AI take on more consequential work,” said Kulmeet Bawa, Managing Director and Group Vice President, ServiceNow India and SAARC.
Ashvin Vellody, Partner and Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer at Deloitte India, said AI maturity is moving beyond individual use cases as organisations deploy the technology across the enterprise.
“As organisations scale AI across the enterprise, the opportunity is moving beyond individual use cases to reimagining workflows, decision-making and operating models,” Vellody said. “That requires equal attention to the foundations that make AI scalable and trusted, including data, talent, governance and accountability.”
The report is based on ServiceNow’s assessment of enterprise AI maturity and compares organisations across areas including AI adoption, governance, data, technology and workflows.