Despite significant skills challenges, 99% of Indian companies are planning to hire for Generative AI (GenAI) roles in 2025, according to recent insights from hiring managers and tech leaders across industries. The data signals growing momentum in India’s AI transformation efforts — even as organizations navigate capability gaps and evolving role requirements.

Findings reported by Analytics India Magazine and AiTechSuite indicate a sharp increase in demand for GenAI specialists across IT services, BFSI, retail, media, and manufacturing sectors. The research draws on interviews with business decision-makers from mid- to large-sized enterprises, reflecting the broadening scope of AI-led workforce strategies.

Demand Rises, But Preparedness Lags

While the vast majority of companies intend to bring GenAI talent on board, many admit they are not fully equipped to deploy such roles effectively. The shortfall stems from a limited pool of professionals skilled in both domain expertise and practical AI implementation.

In-demand roles include AI product managers, LLM specialists, prompt engineers, GenAI developers, and AI ethicists. There is also a growing interest in hybrid roles that merge marketing, analytics, and AI — particularly as digital maturity increases across industries.

Business leaders emphasized the need for strategic hiring that enables scalable use cases across content generation, automation, customer engagement, and internal knowledge management. However, the rapid evolution of GenAI tools and frameworks continues to outpace many organizations' internal upskilling initiatives.

GenAI Talent to Power Enterprise-Wide Change

Hiring for GenAI is no longer confined to technical departments. According to the reports, organizations are increasingly integrating AI talent into marketing, product, customer experience, HR, and legal functions, signaling a shift toward AI-first operations across the board.

Marketing teams in particular are being reshaped, with new roles emerging to manage AI-assisted campaign execution, creative content generation, and automated analytics. Use cases such as AI-generated visuals, intelligent chatbots, dynamic personalization, and performance forecasting are expected to scale rapidly in the coming year.

Many companies are adopting cross-functional GenAI task forces and centers of excellence to coordinate deployment efforts and ensure cohesive implementation.

Upskilling Is a Core Challenge

The talent surge has pushed GenAI education and training to the top of the corporate agenda. Several enterprises are exploring partnerships with academic institutions, online certification platforms, and AI research labs to support ongoing upskilling of internal teams.

However, industry observers warn that many upskilling efforts remain generic or too theoretical. For GenAI adoption to succeed, training needs to be closely tied to specific business use cases, workflows, and measurable outcomes.

The talent crunch is especially pronounced in Tier-1 cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Pune — where demand consistently outpaces supply. Hiring efforts are gradually expanding to Tier-2 and Tier-3 hubs, which are emerging as talent reservoirs for AI-enabled roles.

Implications for Martech and Digital Teams

For marketing and Martech teams, the hiring trend signals a structural shift toward AI-integrated workflows. As generative technologies become embedded in content creation, customer segmentation, campaign optimization, and reporting, organizations will need talent capable of bridging creative strategy with machine intelligence.

Roles such as AI content QA specialists, prompt designers, and AI-powered campaign planners are expected to become standard in marketing departments. At the same time, companies must address new concerns around brand consistency, model bias, and data privacy as AI-generated outputs scale.

Outlook

India’s GenAI hiring surge reflects a broader transformation across its digital economy. With nearly every enterprise preparing to onboard GenAI talent in 2025, the country is entering a new phase of workforce evolution — one that will require coordinated investments in tools, people, and governance.

As enterprises shift from experimentation to execution, the next challenge will be sustaining momentum — ensuring that the right talent is not just hired, but empowered to drive lasting, AI-led outcomes across business functions.