India leads in Gen AI adoption despite data and security concerns

India leads globally in adopting Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) technologies, with a vast percentage of organizations incorporating Gen AI into their operations. A majority of the populace expects increased investments and budget allocations towards Gen AI in the next 2-3 years, according to a recent report. However, almost all CXOs have also expressed concerns about processing and using their data.

Search analytics firm Elastic released the Generative AI Report on Monday, gathering insights from 3,200 IT decision-makers and influencers across sectors in the US, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In the Asia Pacific and Japan region, 1,200 individuals were surveyed, including 300 from India.

The report reveals that 81% of Indian organizations have already implemented Gen AI, making India the leader in adopting generative artificial intelligence technologies. The study also predicts promising investment trends in the near future, with about 94% of respondents anticipating increased investments and budget allocations towards Gen AI initiatives in the next 2-3 years.

A notable 49% anticipate potential time savings of two or more days per week per employee through streamlined data search functionalities, underscoring Gen AI's transformative impact on workflow efficiency and resource optimization. For the next 24-36 months, 93% of respondents in India expect the investment trend to continue and anticipate an increase in budget allocation.

However, the report highlights that 99% of respondents expressed concerns about processing and using their data, emphasizing the need for organizations to work with Gen AI providers who can help safeguard sensitive information. Accessibility and accuracy remain pivotal, with 93% highlighting challenges in search capabilities, reinforcing the need for enhanced data accessibility and analysis tools.

A report published in January by IT networking firm Cisco also highlighted challenges in Gen AI adoption, stating that most organizations are limiting the use of Gen AI due to data privacy and security issues. 27% had banned its use, at least temporarily. Nine out of 10 businesses recognize they need to do more to reassure customers that their data is used for intended and legitimate purposes in AI.

A Deloitte report published in January echoed similar concerns about Gen AI, revealing that only a quarter of leaders believe their organizations are adequately prepared to address governance and risk issues associated with Gen AI adoption. Additionally, only 47% agree that their organizations are effectively educating employees about the capabilities, benefits, and value of Gen AI.

Nonetheless, analysts are extremely optimistic about the development of generative AI in the enterprise. Dev Stahlkopf, Cisco's Chief Legal Officer, stressed the importance of thoughtful governance in preserving customer trust.

Karthik Rajaram, area vice president and general manager, India, Elastic, said that businesses that adopt search-powered Gen AI grounded by the business context will lead and uncover the insights needed to securely innovate, build more efficient businesses, and pioneer new customer experiences.

While deploying generative AI can also assist in breaking down data silos, 96% of organizations are concerned that generative AI will impact their data hygiene practices. As a solution to this problem, Ken Exner, Chief Product Officer, mentioned that by operationalizing search-powered generative AI, organizations can conquer these hurdles and break down data silos. “The combination of both search and generative AI technologies provides automated processes to accelerate data parsing and ensures results are current, relevant, and derived from real-time data,” he said.