Almost 60% of GCCs investing in Agentic AI; build incubators to globalise ideas: EY

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India’s Global Capability Centres (GCCs) are entering a new phase of maturity, with nearly 60 percent of the 1,800-odd GCCs now investing in Agentic artificial intelligence (AI), according to the EY GCC Pulse Survey 2025 report.

Additionally, two-thirds are also setting up structured innovation teams and incubators to generate, test, and take ideas to their parent organisations.

The study indicates a shift from experimentation to enterprise-scale deployment of advanced automation and in-house innovation.

GCC is an offshore unit set up by multinational companies to run technology, operations, engineering, R&D, and other strategic functions for their global businesses. Agentic AI refers to advanced AI systems capable of taking autonomous, goal-driven actions with minimal human intervention.

Manoj Marwah, Partner and GCC Sector Leader for Financial Services at EY India, said the rush toward Agentic AI is driven by a fundamental need to improve productivity, reduce errors, and boost both employee and customer experience. “GCCs always like to reinvent themselves, so that's the underlying reason why this is being adopted,” Marwah added.

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Generative AI (Gen AI) adoption remains high at 83 percent, but the sharp rise of Agentic AI shows a move toward autonomous and decision-making systems that can redesign workflows and strengthen enterprise operations.

"GCCs in India have entered a new chapter. The real shift is that they’re creating innovation arbitrage, beyond just cost advantage. We’re also seeing GCCs move from curiosity to commercialisation in their AI journey," Arindam Sen, Partner and GCC Sector Leader for Technology, Media and Entertainment, and Telecommunications at EY India, was quoted as saying in the release.

Also, read: Indian GCCs power Agentic AI, core infrastructure for global operations: Walmart CTO

GCCs are also institutionalising innovation, with 67 percent creating dedicated innovation teams and incubation programs aimed at global problem statements.

These platforms are being used to crowdsource ideas, run structured pilots, and scale successful solutions across international operations.

The study also finds that India is becoming a larger decision-making base for global firms.

Over half of GCCs now hold shared accountability for global decisions, while another quarter are formally consulted on enterprise-level choices.

Also, read: Why BFSI GCCs employ a third of talent despite forming just 10% of centres

In terms of talent, 81 percent of GCCs are upskilling internal teams on Gen AI and building niche digital capabilities.

Attrition has declined steadily to 9 percent, supported by a stronger focus on innovation-led roles, cross-functional projects, and career development pathways.

Also, read: Indian GCCs retrain staff as AI engineers to combat talent shortage