Archive · 3 Sep 2026
Microsoft Says India Has Moved From AI Pilots Into Production
Puneet Chandok of Microsoft says India is no longer just testing artificial intelligence in small pilot projects.
He says many Indian companies are now using AI in their real operations.
AI is also creating new kinds of jobs, including people who build and manage AI agents.
Some existing jobs will change because AI can handle parts of them.
Workers will still need human abilities such as judgment, curiosity, empathy and critical thinking.
Chandok says AI agents can create new business abilities, not just help people work faster.
Companies must choose the right AI model for each task and watch costs, speed, quality and legal rules.
Microsoft says people should use AI carefully while keeping humans responsible for important decisions.
Microsoft India and South Asia president Puneet Chandok says Indian companies have moved beyond AI experimentation and are deploying systems in production.
Air India, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Apollo Hospitals, Adani Group and Axis Bank are cited as examples of organizations advancing AI use.
Chandok says AI is creating roles such as forward-deployed engineers, enterprise ontology specialists, translators and agent orchestrators.
He expects routine execution, orchestration and data-crunching tasks to become more commoditized while judgment, empathy and critical thinking gain importance.
Chandok says enterprises should manage agentic AI costs through multiple models, deliberate model selection, quality controls and regulatory compliance.
- Who
- Puneet Chandok, Microsoft’s India and South Asia president, and Indian enterprises adopting AI.
- What
- Chandok says India has entered the production phase of AI, with companies deploying AI systems and preparing for changes in jobs and enterprise operations.
- When
- The interview’s date is not stated; Chandok refers to developments occurring during the current AI adoption transition.
- Where
- India, across sectors including aviation, information technology, healthcare, banking and industry.
- Why
- Companies are seeking productivity improvements, new capabilities and returns from AI agents while managing costs, output quality, speed and compliance.
Pilot-heavy view
Production-phase view
India’s AI adoption stage
Pilot-heavy view
Reports cited in the interview portray India as enthusiastic about AI but having the largest number of projects stuck in the pilot stage.
Production-phase view
Puneet Chandok rejects that characterization, saying India has moved beyond “pilot hell” and is now deploying AI in production across major enterprises.
- Microsoft executive
- Puneet Chandok is Microsoft India and South Asia’s president.
- Adoption stage
- Chandok says India has moved from proof-of-concept experimentation into AI production deployments.
- Organizations cited
- Air India, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Apollo Hospitals, Adani Group and Axis Bank are cited as AI adopters.
- New roles
- Examples include forward-deployed engineers, enterprise ontology specialists, translators and agent orchestrators.
- Skilling commitment
- Microsoft’s Elevate programme covers 20 million people in India and 2 million teachers, according to Chandok.
- Frontier professionals
- They use AI for reasoning, orchestrate agents, redesign workflows and apply human judgment to AI outputs.
- Cost strategy
- Chandok recommends an open, heterogeneous system using multiple models and selecting the appropriate model for each use case.