Human and AI collaboration will define the future of work by 2027, Nasscom–Indeed report
Artificial intelligence may be moving rapidly from experimentation to execution, but leaving AI to operate on its own remains a risky proposition. According to a new Future of Work 2025 report by Nasscom and Indeed, organisations are finding that while AI can significantly improve speed and scale, human oversight remains essential to ensure quality, trust, and accountability.
Titled Work Reimagined: The Rise of Human and AI Collaboration, the report examines how AI is being embedded into day-to-day work across the technology sector and what this shift means for employers and job seekers as work increasingly moves from execution to outcomes.
Nearly 97 percent of HR leaders surveyed expect that by 2027, the nature of work will be shaped by humans working alongside AI rather than interacting with it only occasionally. This signals a clear transition, with AI evolving from a supplementary tool into a core component of everyday roles, workflows, and decision-making.
AI is already reshaping work, but not independently
The report finds that 20 to 40 percent of work across technology organisations is already being executed through AI across multiple functions. In software development, 45 percent of respondents said that more than 40 percent of development work is now handled by AI tools. Intelligent automation and business process management follow closely, with adoption levels of 39 percent and 37 percent, respectively.
However, this rapid uptake has exposed important limitations. More than half of respondents reported incomplete or low-quality outputs when AI operates without sufficient human supervision. This reinforces a key insight from the study: while AI excels at speed and scale, it still lacks the contextual judgment and accountability required for consistent enterprise-grade outcomes.
From automation to augmentation
Rather than slowing adoption, these challenges are accelerating a shift toward a more balanced operating model. The next phase of transformation, the report notes, will depend on how effectively AI augments human capabilities rather than replaces them.
The most effective Human and AI collaborations are emerging in higher-order activities such as scope definition, system architecture, data model design, and complex decision-making. At the same time, more routine and repeatable tasks, including boilerplate code generation and unit test creation, are expected to be increasingly automated over the next two to three years.
Speaking on the findings, Ketaki Karnik, Head of Research at Nasscom, said AI is no longer a future consideration for the technology industry and is already shaping how work gets done. She added that the real opportunity lies in preparing people to work effectively alongside AI, with skilling and capability building becoming central as adoption deepens and talent moves up the value chain.
Jobs are evolving faster than hiring signals
A key insight from the report is that AI is reshaping roles internally long before hiring patterns reflect these changes.
“What’s changing isn’t the number of jobs, it’s what those jobs expect from people,” said Sashi Kumar, Managing Director at Indeed India. He noted that roles are evolving internally well ahead of external hiring signals, creating a gap between how work is performed and how roles are defined and recruited for.
As a result, hiring is shifting from credential-led selection to skills-based evaluation. The report highlights that 85 percent of hiring managers see an increase in skills-based hiring, while 98 percent emphasise the need for hybrid and multidisciplinary skills.
For entry-level roles, organisations increasingly expect job-ready candidates, with assessments focused on live projects, hackathons, case-based questions, portfolios, and measurable outcomes. For mid- and senior-level roles, evaluation prioritises end-to-end ownership, decision-making under ambiguity, and demonstrated impact from past work.
Agentic AI gains momentum, concerns persist
The report also points to strong momentum around Agentic AI. More than 95 percent of respondents said they are already using or planning to use AI agents, and over 65 percent believe these agents outperform humans in processing large volumes of data and executing repetitive tasks.
Yet, as AI agents take on greater responsibility, concerns around trust, output quality, accountability, and governance are becoming more pronounced, particularly in regulated and customer-facing environments. This reinforces the central theme of the report: autonomy without oversight increases risk.
Skills, security, and system readiness remain barriers
To stay relevant in a Human and AI workplace, the report urges individuals to focus on adaptability and continuous learning. This includes experience with AI tools, the ability to critically review outputs, combining AI speed with human judgment, moving up the value chain, building multidisciplinary skills, and demonstrating outcomes through tangible work samples rather than credentials alone.
From the employer perspective, several barriers continue to slow AI implementation. These include security and privacy risks cited by 77 percent of respondents, integration with legacy systems at 61 percent, ethical and governance concerns at 59 percent, and resistance to change at 58 percent. Workforce readiness is also a concern, with around 40 percent of HR leaders highlighting gaps in skills required for the AI era.
From contemporary adoption to an actionable future
Organisations are already taking steps to address these challenges. Nearly seven in ten HR leaders are focusing on upskilling, while 79 percent prioritise internal reskilling as their primary AI strategy. Job redesign is becoming increasingly important, shifting humans toward judgment, creativity, and accountability, while AI handles scale and speed.
Organisational structures are also evolving. More than 55 percent of organisations report changes driven by AI adoption and productivity gains. Hybrid work has become the dominant model, with 80 percent of organisations following a hybrid approach and most employees working from the office three or more days a week.
The report concludes that the most immediate challenge is not large-scale job displacement but role clarity. Work is evolving faster than it is being articulated, formalised, or communicated to the market. Without clearer role definitions and closer alignment between internal transformation and hiring frameworks, organisations risk talent mismatches even as AI adoption accelerates.
Ultimately, the findings reinforce a clear message for enterprises embracing automation: AI without human oversight may deliver speed, but quality, trust, and accountability still depend on people. The future of work will belong to organisations that design systems where humans and AI work together to deliver meaningful outcomes.