The Assistant We Didn’t Know We Needed
The global narrative around AI is dominated by panic, job loss, creative extinction, and automation anxiety. But in India, something very different is happening.
Here, GenAI is not replacing workers. It’s augmenting them. Empowering them. Repositioning them.
From a government school teacher in Chhattisgarh designing local-language quizzes with AI, to a Gujarati home chef running a daily WhatsApp broadcast of AI-captioned recipe reels, India is building its own version of the AI-powered workforce.
This is not a Silicon Valley story. It’s a WhatsApp-first, makeshift, multilingual reinvention of productivity. And it's happening quietly. At scale.
The New AI Worker Is Already Here
Across industries, especially at the grassroots, professionals and creators are using GenAI not to replace themselves, but to scale what they do.
Real Examples:
• Teachers are using ChatGPT to create lesson plans in Marathi or Odia, then turning them into AI-narrated voice notes via ElevenLabs.
• Local food entrepreneurs are creating branding posters with Midjourney, translating captions using Google Gemini, and repurposing content for YouTube Shorts, often with no design background.
• Freelancers in small towns are writing LinkedIn content, subtitle videos, and translate training decks using ChatGPT + Whisper AI, getting more clients without increasing hours.
And this isn’t just anecdotal. According to NASSCOM’s AI Workforce Report (2025), 39% of Indian professionals, from solopreneurs to mid-size agency staff now use some form of AI in their workflow.
This number is expected to cross 50% by late 2026, driven by vernacular adoption and mobile-friendly AI interfaces.
Small Teams, Big Output
What’s Changing:
Agencies and solopreneurs across India are using GenAI to do in hours what used to take days.
• Planning: Using AI to brainstorm 10 campaign angles in 10 minutes.
• Visualization: Generating moodboards, thumbnails, and mockups using Midjourney, Canva AI, or Leonardo AI.
• Repurposing: Turning one podcast into reels, blogs, and audiograms using transcription + summarization + TTS tools.
As a result, we’re seeing:
• Small content teams scaling output by 4–5x
• Boutique ad agencies running leaner, smarter ops
• Young professionals in semi-urban towns pitching to global clients because the tools do the heavy lifting
This shift is giving birth to a new professional category: The AI Orchestrator, someone who doesn’t write, design, or code from scratch…but guides AI to do it better, faster, and at scale.
Not Automation for the Elite - Augmentation for the Masses
Let’s be clear. This GenAI boom is not just for high-end coders or Ivy League grads. It’s being used:
• In WhatsApp groups, where admins create daily affirmations using AI.
• By coaching centres who subtitle entire video libraries overnight using Whisper + ChatGPT + Kapwing AI.
• By regional YouTubers who generate scripts, voiceovers, and visuals without ever opening Premiere Pro or Photoshop.
The AI revolution in India is:
• Mobile-first
• Non-English friendly
• And often powered by entry-level smartphones + mid-tier broadband
But here’s the catch, this works only if the digital infrastructure supports it. That’s where things get interesting for ISPs.
Our Take: The Infrastructure Behind the AI Worker
At Lytus, when we look at how GenAI is being used across India, a few things are clear:
AI isn’t a “heavy” tool…
Until it starts:
• Pulling live image models from the cloud
• Rendering Midjourney-level graphics
• Or executing multi-step prompts (e.g., write > translate > summarize > voice it)
That’s when latency and throughput start to matter. A 5-second lag might not kill a stream. But it breaks the AI flow especially for:
• Rural creators uploading image prompts
• Teachers downloading narration files in low bandwidth
• Freelancers working inside browser-based AI tools with real-time output needs
So here’s what we believe needs to happen next:
1. Stable, High-Throughput Broadband for Edge AI Workflows
Most GenAI tools, even on mobile, rely on frequent cloud calls. This means high-volume, short-burst uploads and downloads. Not just one big download like a movie. We need networks that can handle cloud chatter, not just video streaming.
2. Latency Optimization for Prompt-Heavy Tools
AI tools like Notion AI, Gamma, Midjourney, or Runway work best with near-instant feedback loops. Anything above 50–60ms latency can lead to:
• Timeouts
• Failed outputs
• Or user drop-off
If GenAI is becoming India’s new productivity layer, ISPs need to start measuring for prompt reliability not just Mbps.
3. Localized Caching for Popular AI APIs
If we know regional users are hitting the same AI voice APIs repeatedly (e.g., for narration, translation), can we cache that layer? Localized caching and routing can shave off precious seconds and improve success rates dramatically.
4. AI-Friendly Bundles for MSMEs, Creators, and Students
Why not offer creator-specific or education-specific broadband packs with:
• Stable upload speeds
• Generous cloud data quotas
• Low-latency tiers optimized for GenAI workflows?
Because right now, these users are being served the same as binge-watchers. And their needs are different.
India's Workforce Isn’t Being Automated. It's Being Rewired.
Yes, some jobs will evolve. Yes, some tasks will be automated.
But the bigger story in India is this: AI is enabling more people to create, teach, earn, and build - faster, better, and in their own language.
The shift isn’t from human to machine. It’s from doing everything manually to guiding the machine smartly.
The new Indian worker doesn’t fear prompts. They use them as power tools.