Bengaluru – While 86 percent of employees in India are using artificial intelligence in their organisation, only 35 percent say AI’s return on investment (ROI) has met or exceeded expectations, according to the recently released ISACA 2026 AI Pulse Poll. This annual, global poll examines trends in AI use, policies and standards, workforce impact, incident response readiness and security across the digital trust profession.
The report garnered responses from more than 3,400 global digital trust professionals hailing from IT audit, governance, cybersecurity, privacy and emerging technology roles, including 265 from India. The ISACA poll revealed that AI has become embedded in day-to-day work; however, governance and operational readiness continue to lag.
The poll highlights that increasingly more organizations are adopting AI policies in India than last year, and in comparison, to their global counterparts. Nearly half (49 percent) of organizations in India say they have a formal, comprehensive AI policy—up from 32 percent in 2025. This is compared to 38 percent globally this year. However, more progress is still needed, as 23 percent say they have a limited policy in place, and one-fifth (20 percent) have no active policy.
There also appears to be some uncertainty in India around the ROI for AI, though more express a positive view than those globally
21 percent say they believe it is too early to tell the ROI
21 percent cite limited ROI so far
18 percent say they do not know the ROI
35 percent indicate AI ROI has met or exceeded their expectations, compared to 22 percent globally
“There’s enormous pressure on organizations to show that AI is paying off, but the pulse poll reveals a more honest picture: most organizations aren’t yet sure whether it has,” says Keith Bloomfield-DeWeese, Senior Manager of AI Product Development at ISACA. “That uncertainty isn’t a failure of AI, but a reflection of how hard it is to build something that actually works at scale. The thing with ROI in AI is that it doesn’t arrive on schedule; it’s not a switch that can be flipped: it’s the result of sustained investment in the people, processes, and governance structures that make intelligent systems reliable. The organizations that resist the urge to declare victory too early are the ones most likely to get there.”
Increased use, demand for AI skills
The poll delved deeper to highlight that the use of AI is expected and is embedded across the enterprise. Respondents in India indicate they leverage it most for:
Increasing productivity (56 percent)
Automating repetitive tasks (55 percent)
Creating written content (51 percent)
Analyzing large amounts of data (42 percent)
Most respondents from India noted that AI literacy is vital, with 82 percent saying AI skills are very or extremely important to their profession, similar to last year at 81 percent. The increasing demand for AI skills across jobs is reflected through 35 percent respondents saying that their organizations train all employees on AI, up from 22 percent in 2025. Moving ahead, 57 percent of Indian respondents stated that while their organization will increase AI-related jobs in the next 12 months, up from 46 percent in 2025, workloads do not appear to be decreasing due to AI. Sixty-six percent of respondents state that job responsibilities have increased or have not changed in the lasyear.
Areas for improvement
The ability to counter unintended consequences from AI remains a question, as over half (53 percent) of India-based respondents do not know how long it would take to halt an AI system due to a security incident, while 35 percent say they do not know whether they have a documented process for shutting down or overriding AI systems if things go wrong.
Respondents shared concerns about AI risk, with 47 percent noting that AI risks are an immediate priority, and 61 percent saying they are confident in their board’s understanding of and action against AI risks. Respondents’ most-cited AI risks include:
Privacy violations (73%)
Misinformation and disinformation (72%)
Loss of intellectual property (55%)
Social engineering (53%)
Job displacement (44%)
Additionally, detection capability has improved, but trust remains fragile. 56 percent respondents say they are confident in their own ability to detect AI‑powered misinformation, up from 39 percent in 2025. Meanwhile, 58 percent are confident in their organization’s ability to detect AI-powered misinformation.
Beyond practical, workplace implications, there are the bigger-picture, societal questions. 85 percent of respondents in India said they consider the environmental concerns associated with using AI within their organization. While just 32 percent strongly agree that organizations are giving sufficient attention to ethical standards related to AI implementation.
AI Resources, Training
Highlighting a growing concern, Chetan Anand, AVP – Information Security and CISO, Profinch Solutions, and member of the ISACA Emerging Trends Working Group., said: “The growing momentum of AI in India is not just about adoption but accountability. Organizations world over are moving fast on the adoption of AI, and India is no exception. However, the gaps in governance, training and ROI measurement show that maturity has not kept pace. There is scale but no structure. Thus, the next phase calls for effective investments in governance frameworks to build trust, manage risk and transform AI investments into tangible business outcomes.”
To meet the needs of digital trust professionals seeking the training, knowledge and best practices to keep pace in the age of AI, ISACA offers a range of AI courses and resources, as well as three new credentials: Advanced in AI Audit (AAIA), Advanced in AI Security Management (AAISM) and Advanced in AI Risk (AAIR).
Learn more and gain additional insights by accessing ISACA’s 2026 AI Pulse Poll and related resources at www.isaca.org/ai-pulse-poll.
