GenAI to boost India's IT industry's productivity by up to 45%, EY India survey shows

The increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) could boost the productivity of India's $254-billion software by 43%-45% over the next five years, according to a survey by consulting firm EY India.

This productivity boost, which EY India's survey states will span 500 roles, will come through the dual effect of the IT industry itself integrating elements of GenAI internally and as more client projects move from proof of concept to production.

Top IT companies such as Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys have highlighted the use of AI by clients to do new projects and EY India said 89% of them have started trialling GenAI projects, with 33% of those already in production.

"Enterprises are moving beyond experimentation to putting AI into production at scale. The rapid transition from POC to enterprise-wide adoption reflects the industry's confidence in AI's potential," Abhinav Johri, a technology consulting partner at EY India, said in a statement.

Within the sprawling IT industry, EY India's survey showed that roles in software development will get the biggest productivity boost, of roughly 60%, followed by a 52% improvement for BPO services and 47% for IT consulting.

This trio - software development, BPO services and IT consulting - will account for 50%-60% of the overall productivity improvement in tech services, the survey showed.

The increasing use of AI is not only helping the IT industry enhance customer service but is also lowering costs and improving revenue growth, according to executives surveyed by EY India.