India’s largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), is urging its employees to actively adopt artificial intelligence (AI), even if it changes or replaces some of the company’s traditional business models. The leadership believes that embracing AI early will create new opportunities for both employees and clients instead of threatening jobs.
TCS CEO and Managing Director K. Krithivasan shared this perspective during the 34th NASSCOM Technology Leadership Forum in Mumbai. He emphasized that employees should not fear AI or avoid it. Instead, they should explore how AI can improve the services offered to clients. According to him, resisting technological change can limit growth, while adopting it can unlock new possibilities.
Krithivasan also encouraged employees—referred to as “associates” within the company—to suggest AI-based solutions to clients, even if those solutions reduce revenue from existing services. The company believes that adapting early to AI-driven transformation will help it stay competitive in the future.
Building AI Knowledge Across the Organization
TCS has a clear vision of becoming the world’s largest AI-led technology services company. To achieve this, the company wants every employee, from junior staff to senior leadership, to become comfortable using AI tools.
Krithivasan highlighted the importance of giving employees access to AI technologies so they can experiment and learn without fear. He believes that creating AI fluency across the workforce is essential for the company’s future.
Interestingly, he noted that younger employees are often more comfortable with new technologies than senior leaders. While junior associates actively experiment with new tools, senior leaders sometimes only hear about technologies without actually using them. To address this, TCS is encouraging its senior management to actively build and experiment with AI-based solutions themselves.
Learning AI Without Financial Incentives
When asked whether employees need incentives to adopt AI, Krithivasan explained that formal rewards are not necessary. According to him, most employees are already interested in learning new technologies.
Instead of incentives, TCS focuses on providing learning opportunities and encouraging an “AI-first” mindset when solving client problems. Employees are motivated to think about AI as the first option when designing solutions, even if it means changing existing service models.
The company believes that by encouraging experimentation and learning, employees will naturally adapt to the changing technological landscape.
Preparing for the Future
Overall, TCS views artificial intelligence not as a threat but as a major opportunity for growth and innovation. By encouraging employees to experiment with AI and integrate it into client solutions, the company hopes to remain relevant in an increasingly AI-driven world.
Krithivasan stressed that companies must adapt to technological shifts rather than resist them. According to him, those who embrace AI early will be better positioned to succeed in the future.
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