New Delhi: Adobe, the global technology leader focused on creativity, productivity and personalised customer experiences, has released the India findings of its 2026 AI and Digital Trends Report, revealing that India is emerging as the most receptive market for agentic AI in the Asia Pacific region.
Now in its 16th edition, Adobe’s global study surveyed 7,000 consumers and business leaders worldwide to assess evolving attitudes towards digital transformation, AI adoption and consumer engagement with AI-driven experiences.
The findings show India leading the region in openness to agentic AI, with 60% of Indian consumers expressing interest in creating a personal AI agent, the highest in Asia Pacific. More than half (55%) said they would engage with a brand’s AI agent if offered.
Consumer readiness extends further, with 58% comfortable with agent-to-agent interactions, while 61% said they are willing to allow an AI agent to interact with a brand’s human representative on their behalf. India also recorded the highest personal executive confidence in adopting new technologies at 26%, outperforming other Asia Pacific markets.
The report also highlights growing consumer reliance on AI throughout purchasing journeys. Around 65% of Indian consumers are using AI to search for personalised product recommendations, 60% rely on AI for instant customer support, and 62% are open to shopping via virtual AI concierge services.
Commenting on the findings, Anindita Veluri, Director of Marketing, Adobe India, said, “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. At the same time, consumers expect these interactions to be transparent, intuitive and human-centric. As organisations move from experimentation to scaled adoption, strong data foundations, governance and trust will be critical to unlocking the full value of AI.”
Adobe’s research suggests that AI-driven experiences are becoming embedded into everyday interactions, marking what it describes as a defining moment in the evolution of agentic AI. The report notes that brands now have a significant opportunity to shape adoption responsibly while building governance and operational capabilities needed for long-term growth.
However, the study also points to a widening disconnect between consumer expectations and how businesses currently evaluate AI performance.
Consumers increasingly assess AI experiences based on trust, transparency and outcomes, whereas organisations remain largely focused on operational efficiency and cost optimisation.
Commenting on the broader regional implications, Duncan Egan, Vice President of Enterprise Marketing, Asia Pacific and Japan, Adobe, said, “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. Many consumers are comfortable with agentic AI, but say adoption relies on defined transparent contexts with options for human support.”
He added, “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. However, 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.”
The report underscores that trust and human connection remain central to adoption.
Consumers identified clear labelling of AI interactions (21%) and the ability to switch to a human representative at any time (17%) as the most important safeguards when engaging with AI agents.
Meanwhile, 74% of consumers said AI-driven personalisation frequently saves them time, and 71% described AI interactions as convenient. However, transparency remains critical, with 61% saying they would stop engaging with a brand if they discovered they were interacting with AI when expecting a human, while 76% believe AI interactions should continue to feel human rather than robotic.
On the enterprise side, the report found that although adoption momentum is building, organisations remain in the early stages of scaling AI capabilities.
Currently, only 10% of Indian organisations have embedded agentic AI into customer support functions, and 9% have adopted it for brand discovery and search. Enterprise-wide implementation remains limited, with just 7% deploying agentic AI at scale for marketing content creation and customer support, and 4% for onboarding and customer education.
Execution challenges continue to slow progress. Internal resistance to change emerged as the biggest alignment challenge, cited by 53% of Indian executives.
Operational barriers remain significant, with organisations identifying data integration and quality issues (69%), talent and skills gaps (65%), unclear return on investment (62%), and technology infrastructure limitations (48%) as the primary constraints to successful AI adoption.
Despite these hurdles, organisations are already reporting gains from generative AI. According to the report, 71% say generative AI has improved the speed and scale of content ideation and production, while 67% say it has enabled non-creative teams to create content more efficiently, signalling AI’s growing role in enterprise transformation.
