Indian consumers trust AI more than almost anyone else surveyed, and Indian workers fear it more than almost anyone else. Both findings come from the same data: the India cut of the Oliver Wyman Forum's Global Voices Survey, released with its Reality Checks: AI Agenda 2026 report at the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in New Delhi.
The number that stands out
79% of employed Indian respondents said they would give up at least 10% of their salary for a guarantee that AI would never replace them. The global figure is 47%.
That gap is large, and it sits next to some of the most enthusiastic adoption numbers in the 15-market study.
Shoppers are ahead of their employers
- 60% of Indians would follow an AI recommendation over friends, family, social media or reviews when they conflict. Globally it is 32%, and India ranks first on this measure.
- 59% would go to AI first when looking for a new product or service (33% globally).
- 81% would consider switching brands if an AI agent found a better fit (60% globally).
- 72% would let an AI agent spend money on their behalf without checking first (49% globally).
If you run a consumer brand in India, that last figure is the one to sit with. More and more, the first thing judging your product will be an agent.
Work is changing underneath people
- 79% of daily AI users in India say they have played down their AI skills at work (62% globally).
- 45% of white-collar managers say AI now does much of the work junior staff used to learn from (25% globally).
So people use AI heavily, keep quiet about it, and watch the entry-level work that used to train them go away. Seen that way, the salary-for-security number is less surprising.
Governance is not keeping up
- 73% of workplace AI users in India have entered sensitive company information into an AI tool (50% globally).
- 62% say incorrect AI output caused them a real problem in the past year (46% globally).
These are the two numbers I would take to a board. Shadow AI is already widespread in Indian enterprises.
And people want the state to invest
39% of Indian respondents would back major public investment in national AI capability even if it meant higher taxes or spending cuts elsewhere. That is the highest of the 15 markets, ahead of China (37%) and Saudi Arabia (33%).
What I take from it
High trust, high anxiety and weak guardrails don't sit well together. Companies that want the productivity gains will have to do three things at once: give employees sanctioned tools so data stops leaking into unsanctioned ones, redesign how juniors learn now that AI does their old tasks, and be open about how AI will and won't change roles. The survey suggests people will accept a lot of AI. Being kept in the dark about it is a different matter.
