Indian consumers are emerging as the most enthusiastic adopters of agentic artificial intelligence in the Asia-Pacific region, with 60% expressing interest in creating a personal AI agent, according to Adobe's 2026 AI and Digital Trends Report. This represents the strongest consumer appetite for AI-driven services in the region, highlighting India's growing comfort with AI-enabled interactions and digital assistance tools. The report states that India demonstrates the strongest consumer appetite for agentic AI in Asia Pacific, with 60% of consumers interested in creating a personal AI agent, significantly higher than business expectations in India and other Asia Pacific markets. India also recorded the highest personal executive confidence in adopting new tools at 26%, further reinforcing the country's leadership position in AI adoption. As per Anindita Veluri, Director of Marketing, Adobe India, "India is emerging as one of the most receptive markets for agentic AI in Asia Pacific, creating new opportunities for brands to deliver more personalised and effective customer experiences."
The report reveals a widening gap between consumer expectations and business preparedness for AI adoption, as Indians increasingly embrace AI-driven interactions for shopping, customer service and everyday digital tasks. This disconnect suggests that while consumers are ready for advanced AI integration, businesses may be struggling with implementation challenges and trust concerns that could limit the full potential of agentic AI solutions. The report highlights that these figures are significantly higher than business expectations in India and other Asia Pacific markets, indicating a clear mismatch between consumer readiness and corporate preparedness for AI implementation. The report also noted that while consumers evaluate AI experiences based on trust, transparency and whether their needs are met, many organisations continue to focus primarily on efficiency gains and cost-related metrics. As per Duncan Egan, Vice President of Enterprise Marketing, Asia Pacific and Japan, Adobe, "Consumer behaviours are shifting across Asia Pacific, with AI already rising in brand discovery and now set to play a greater role in purchasing journeys."
According to the Adobe report, around 55% of consumers said they would be willing to interact with a brand's AI agent, demonstrating broad acceptance of AI-powered customer service and support systems. Additionally, 58% were comfortable with agent-to-agent interactions, indicating growing familiarity with AI-mediated communication processes. The survey also found that 61% said they would allow an AI agent to engage with a company's human representative on their behalf, suggesting confidence in AI's ability to handle complex interactions. Indian consumers are increasingly integrating AI into their shopping experiences, with around 65% using AI to search for personalised product recommendations and 60% using AI for instant customer support. Additionally, 62% said they are open to shopping through a virtual AI concierge. The report found that more than half of consumers surveyed said AI-driven personalisation frequently saves them time, and 76% said AI-powered interactions should continue to feel human rather than robotic.
The report reveals strong consumer interest in AI-powered shopping experiences, with 62% saying they are open to shopping through a virtual AI concierge. Indian consumers are increasingly embracing AI-driven commerce solutions, demonstrating their willingness to adopt advanced AI-enabled shopping platforms and virtual assistance tools. This trend reflects the growing acceptance of AI-powered customer service and support systems across multiple sectors, from shopping to customer support and beyond. The findings also suggest that 61% said they would stop engaging with a brand if they discovered they were interacting with AI when they had expected a human, highlighting the importance of transparent AI interactions for maintaining consumer trust. What's more notable is how comfortable consumers appear to be with the idea of AI acting on their behalf, with 65% using AI to find personalised product recommendations and 60% using AI-powered customer support or service tools.
Trust and human interaction emerged as key factors influencing AI adoption, with around 21% of consumers identifying clear labelling of AI systems as the most important reassurance when using AI agents, while 17% said the ability to switch to a human representative at any time was critical. The report highlighted key barriers to scaling AI, including data integration and quality issues (69%), talent and skills gaps (65%), unclear return on investment (62%), and technology infrastructure limitations (48%). Despite these challenges, the report stated that organisations are already reporting benefits from generative AI, with around 71% saying generative AI has improved the volume and speed of content ideation and production, while 67% said it has enabled non-creative teams to create content more efficiently. As per Duncan Egan, "For many organisations, AI is already delivering meaningful improvements to experience delivery and customer growth. Early results from generative AI are translating into accelerated agentic adoption."
On the enterprise side, adoption of agentic AI remains at an early stage despite growing interest, with only 10% of organisations having embedded agentic AI across customer support functions, while 9% have deployed it for brand discovery and search. Enterprise-wide deployment remains limited, with only 7% of organisations reporting large-scale use in marketing content creation and customer support, and 4% in customer onboarding and education. The report found that organisations cited several barriers to wider adoption, including data integration and quality issues, talent and skills gaps, difficulties in measuring return on investment, and technology infrastructure constraints. As per Duncan Egan, "While enthusiasm for agentic AI is high, most brands still need to build the data, governance and orchestration capabilities that will allow these efforts to scale."
