India's workforce is rapidly embracing AI at work and in hiring, with adoption expected to accelerate as organizations redesign roles around automation, ACCA said in its latest survey.
The report noted that India currently enjoys global confidence in AI-led recruitment and upskilling, though experts warn that "human ownership and intervention" will remain critical to avoid repeating past biases.
"AI is an algorithm and algorithmic does not automatically mean objective or fair," explained Sowmya Narayan, quoted by ACCA in the report. "Given the use of historical data for pattern recognition, the application of AI for recruitment would mean repeating the mistakes of the past. Context blindness is another risk - explaining career decisions like career breaks, changes, and growth come with subjectivity and personal stories - something that agentic AI can't be expected to be mindful about," Narayan said.
According to ACCA's survey, over half of India respondents, 52%, said they are confident using an AI algorithm to support fair and unbiased recruitment, higher than the global average of 43%. Confidence is strongest among Gen Z at 54%, compared with 48% for Gen Y and 27% for Gen X. Across seniority levels too, confidence levels around AI-based hiring in India outpace global figures.
Use at work is already widespread. When asked about AI use at work, 57% of India respondents confirmed using AI technologies in their current role. That exposure translates to skills confidence: 86% said they are confident in their ability to learn and apply AI-related skills. Organisational support is catching up, with 50% confirming their employer is providing opportunities to learn AI-related skills in 2026, up from 37% in 2025, ACCA reported.
Yet anxieties persist. Jobs being replaced by technology is the number one concern for India respondents. More than half of finance professionals, 53%, feel overwhelmed by the pace of technological change and 57% are concerned about AI's impact on their role, both significantly above global averages. One third, 34%, feel investment in AI is outpacing investment in people, versus 26% globally.
Employers at an ACCA India roundtable said AI is proving a strong recruitment funnel to sift large applicant pools, but cautioned against over-reliance. "While using AI for screening resumes, we've lost out on some good resumes that maybe a person looking at it would have passed on to the next stage. In its current capability, we can't rely on AI without human involvement," a human resource professional told ACCA. Another finance leader said they are using Power BI, Power Automate, ChatGPT to bring efficiency, though hallucination and data privacy keep organizations on guard.
The report by ACCA suggested that the integration of AI will fundamentally reshape the nature of work, with generative and agentic AI handling operational tasks. "It is essential for employees to stay aspirational and prepared - by upskilling and learning how to embed AI into their roles to stay relevant. At the same time, employers must redesign roles in a way that routine work is automated, enabling people to focus on more meaningful, high-value contributions," Narayan noted in comments shared by ACCA.