A recent study by Google, in collaboration with Kantar India, has revealed interesting trends in the adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) in India. The study, conducted between November 2024 and March 2025, involved over 8,000 face-to-face interviews across 18 cities, targeting individuals aged 18-44 from socioeconomic classes A and B. While enthusiasm for AI is growing, the study highlights a significant knowledge gap and challenges related to accessibility and ease of use.
The research indicates that a considerable portion of the Indian population is still unfamiliar with AI. Approximately 60% of respondents stated they were not familiar with what AI is or does, and less than one in three (31%) have experimented with any GenAI tool. A significant barrier to adoption is the difficulty in understanding how to access and use these tools, with three-fourths of non-users citing this as a challenge. This suggests a need for simplified, user-friendly AI offerings to encourage wider acceptance.
Despite the knowledge gap, the study reveals a strong desire among Indians to leverage AI for personal and professional growth. A notable 75% of respondents expressed interest in using AI as a daily growth collaborator to help them excel. The study also found that individuals are motivated to use AI to boost productivity (72%), enhance creativity (77%), and communicate more effectively (73%). Furthermore, 76% want to save time on everyday tasks, and 84% are seeking to be more creative in their personal lives.
Early adopters of Google's GenAI tool, Gemini, have reported positive experiences. An impressive 92% of Gemini users in India reported a boost in confidence, 93% noted enhanced productivity, and 85% felt it sparked their creativity. These findings indicate that AI tools like Gemini can fulfill the desire for a collaborative guide in people's lives, provided the initial barriers are overcome.
Google is actively working to address these challenges by streamlining its AI offerings and integrating GenAI capabilities into a single, user-friendly app. The company is also focusing on localizing AI for the Indian context, with Gemini Live already working in nine Indian languages and efforts underway to support over 100 Indian languages. Google DeepMind's Senior Director, Manish Gupta, stated that Gemini's Flash models are designed to be highly efficient, providing the most intelligence per rupee, token, and watt, driven by the requirements of the Indian market. These efforts suggest a potential pathway for wider acceptance of GenAI in India, with Google actively working to simplify access and expand capabilities.
