AI adoption to raise productivity by over 2 times in India by 2021: Microsoft

Adoption of artificial intelligence is expected to help double the rate of industrial innovation, and may result in over two times jump in employee productivity in India by 2021, a study by tech giant Microsoft said Monday.

The study, conducted by research firm IDC on behalf of Microsoft, said organisations that have adopted AI saw tangible improvements in the range of 8-22 per cent in areas like customer engagement, margins and competitiveness.

"By 2021, artificial intelligence (AI) will more than double the rate of innovation at organisations (2.2 times) and employee productivity (2.3 times) in India," the study titled 'Future Ready Business: Assessing Asia Pacific's Growth Potential Through AI' said.

However, only one-third of the organisations (respondents) in India said they have embarked on their AI journeys.

The study found that India business leaders and workers hold positive viewpoints about the AI's impact on the future of jobs.

About 64 per cent of business leaders and 63 per cent of workers believe that AI will either help to do their existing jobs better or reduce repetitive tasks.

When it comes to creating or replacing jobs, 16 per cent of business leaders believe that AI will create new jobs, but 18 per cent also feel that the technology will replace workers.

The report said that about 85 per cent of businesses prioritise skilling and re-skilling of workers in the future and plan to invest in the human capital evenly or even more compared to investing in technology.

"Economies and businesses that have yet to embark on their AI journey run a real risk of missing out on the competitive benefits that are enjoyed by leaders. Businesses must now embrace a new culture, where innovation and continuous learning are core components of the organisational culture," Microsoft India National Technology Officer Rohini Srivathsa told reporters here.

The Asia Pacific study was based on response from 1,605 business leaders and 1,585 workers, including 200 business leaders and 202 workers in India. Fifteen countries were part of the report including Australia, China, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, and Singapore among others.

ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, which used Microsoft's AI expertise, showcased a new solution that deploys AI to process vehicle insurance claims and renew policies more efficiently.

Girish Nayak, Chief Service, Operations and Technology at ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, said the company recognised the potential of AI in providing high quality car damage evaluation services.

"With data being generated at an exponential level, this technology will help us derive insights to inspect and process claims with utmost efficiency...this will allow us to meet customer demands quicker without compromising on service excellence," he added.