Study: AI handles 37% of entry-level tasks in India

A study by Cognizant and Pearson found that 37% of entry-level tasks in India are already handled by artificial intelligence, above the 33% global average identified in the same survey.

Based on responses from 750 HR leaders in the US, UK and India, the research points to a labour market where employers are raising expectations for junior staff as AI takes over more routine work. In India, 18% of HR leaders said AI now handles half or more of entry-level work.

That shift is reshaping how companies define early-career roles. The study found that 96% of HR leaders expect entry-level jobs to evolve into positions in which employees supervise or manage AI systems within five years, while 94% expect AI to create new entry-level roles that do not yet exist.

Employers are also placing greater emphasis on workers who can review AI output, interpret results and apply judgement, rather than simply carry out repetitive tasks. In India, 80% of organisations said AI is allowing employees to focus on higher-value work, compared with 77% globally.

Skills shift

The findings also point to a change in recruitment criteria. Nearly all respondents, 97%, said soft skills matter more than ever, reflecting demand for adaptability, problem-solving and human judgement.

Broader educational backgrounds are also gaining ground. Two-thirds of HR professionals said they value liberal arts degrees more than they used to because of AI, while 69% said broad, interdisciplinary backgrounds are more important for early-career talent than narrowly specialised qualifications. In India, 65% of respondents shared that view.

The report also found that AI knowledge is increasingly expected beyond technical teams. Almost all HR professionals surveyed said they are placing greater weight on AI skills even for non-technical roles, and 91% of organisations in India said they now value those skills more highly for such jobs.

Even so, the survey points to a gap between demand for new skills and companies' ability to provide them. Across the three markets, 91% of HR professionals said employee demand for AI training had increased over the previous 12 months.

At the same time, 60% said their learning and development programmes could not keep pace with the speed at which AI is changing jobs. In India, the figure was slightly higher at 63%.

Training gap

Employers are split on whether they are preparing staff early enough. Just 54% of HR professionals said their organisations proactively arrange AI upskilling in anticipation of future role changes, while 46% said they do not.

India showed some relative strength in formal training support. The survey found that 63% of organisations in India have allocated time for AI training, compared with 49% in the US.

Yet hiring remains difficult. Some 61% of organisations in India said they face challenges finding the right talent, underlining how quickly skill requirements are changing in one of the world's largest graduate labour markets.

Middle managers emerged as a critical part of that transition. The study found that 95% of HR leaders believe middle managers are essential to ensuring employees use AI effectively, and 92% said they play a crucial role in redefining jobs as AI reshapes day-to-day work.

Rajesh Varrier, President - Global Operations and Chairman & Managing Director, Cognizant India, said: "India is at the forefront of how AI is transforming entry-level work, with organizations already embedding AI into day-to-day operations at scale. We are seeing a fundamental redesign of roles, where early-career talent is expected to work alongside AI and focus on higher-value outcomes. This shift underscores the necessity for extensive reskilling and improved managerial effectiveness, both of which are key in an economy increasingly shaped by AI."

The study adds to a wider debate over whether AI will reduce hiring at the lower end of the labour market or change the type of work available to new entrants. In this case, the survey suggests employers expect redesign rather than outright removal of junior roles, though with a much stronger emphasis on oversight, adaptability and cross-disciplinary skills.

Cognizant also linked the findings to its own graduate recruitment plans. It said it hired 20,000 fresh graduates in 2025 and expects to exceed that total in 2026, presenting this as evidence that early-career recruitment remains important even as AI changes how work is organised.

Kathy Diaz, Chief People Officer, Cognizant, said: "AI is reshaping the talent landscape and exposing the limits of traditional talent and learning models. With the fundamental shift in entry-level tasks and skill requirements changing rapidly, organizations must rethink how they hire and develop talent at pace."

Pearson, which works with Cognizant on workforce development programmes covering AI, cloud and digital skills, framed the findings as part of a broader change in how companies prepare staff to work alongside automated systems.

Ali Bebo, Chief Human Resources Officer, Pearson, said: "As work evolves, the most successful organizations will focus less on replacing tasks and more on building the capabilities that help humans and AI work together. That starts with early-career talent."