83% of Indian firms appoint Chief AI Officers to drive GenAI innovation: AWS study

A new study by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Access Partnership reveals that 83% of organisations in India have already appointed a Chief AI Officer (CAIO) to lead their generative AI (Gen AI) strategies, with another 15% planning to follow by 2026. The findings signal a strategic shift as businesses move from pilot projects to full-scale Gen AI integration.

The study, titled Generative AI Adoption Index, surveyed 415 senior IT decision-makers across key sectors including finance, ICT, manufacturing, and retail. It finds Gen AI to be the top investment priority for 64% of Indian businesses in 2025, outpacing both security (21%) and compute infrastructure (10%).

While CEOs and CTOs continue to play a role in AI-led transformation, the emergence of CAIOs reflects the growing need for specialised leadership to manage Gen AI’s complexity. These leaders are tasked with accelerating implementation, creating training plans, and aligning AI adoption with business goals.

The study notes that Gen AI adoption is widespread in India:

• 98% of organisations are already using Gen AI tools

• 43% have fully integrated Gen AI into their workflows

• 49% of experiments are expected to go into production by 2025

AI is seen not just as a technology upgrade, but as a transformative tool that can reimagine operations, customer experience, and workforce efficiency. However, the pace of adoption highlights gaps in areas like change management and skills development. Currently, only 25% of organisations have a defined strategy to help employees adapt to AI, though this is expected to improve significantly by 2026.

To unlock value from Gen AI, companies are increasingly:

• Blending proprietary data with fine-tuned models for performance and scalability

• Relying on a mix of in-house teams and external partners for deployment

• Creating training plans (81% have already done so), although many face barriers such as unclear skill needs and budget constraints

AWS is supporting this transition with its $100 million Generative AI Innovation Center, which offers free workshops and expert support. It is also addressing the AI talent gap through its Skill Builder platform, providing over 80 free courses. Additionally, AWS’s partner network—including Indian firms like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro—is helping businesses deploy AI with domain-specific expertise.

As Indian businesses accelerate their AI transformation, strategic leadership and smart deployment will be key to unlocking Gen AI’s full potential.