Rising AI adoption impacts entry-level hiring in IT sector, reveals study
New Delhi: The increasing acceptance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) among companies has specifically impacted entry-level recruitments. A recent report has concluded that the integration of AI is shifting hiring priorities across the sector, leading to notable changes in how organizations approach their workforce requirements.
According to a study conducted by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) with support from OpenAI, the adoption of AI is altering recruitment trends. As per agency report, the study indicates that sixty-three percent of companies have reported an increased demand for employees who possess domain expertise combined with AI or data skills, as these technologies become integrated into their core operations.
The report, titled 'AI and Jobs: This Time is No Different', provides an assessment of the company-level acceptance of Gen AI in India to date. The study was conducted between November 2025 and January 2026 and includes responses from 650 information technology companies across ten cities in India. It observed that companies have noted a slight reduction in hiring, which is primarily visible at the entry level, while recruitment at the middle and top levels has remained stable.
The findings suggest that demand has surged the most in areas requiring AI capabilities, such as software developers and database administrators. Furthermore, the report highlights that in over 1,900 business segments most affected by AI, the increase in productivity significantly outweighs any decline.
regarding workforce development, more than half of the surveyed companies stated that they are already facilitating AI adoption through awareness programs or training, while another thirty-eight percent mentioned they are preparing to do so. However, the report points out that the scope of training is currently limited, as only a few companies indicated that more than half of their workforce had received AI-related training during the previous year.
