AI will augment, not replace humans, says Microsoft’s Puneet Chandok

Artificial intelligence is set to enhance human capabilities rather than replace employees, says Puneet Chandok, President of Microsoft India and South Asia.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Chandok added that AI can remove routine tasks, make processes smarter, and enable humans and agents to work together seamlessly.

Skilling employees in AI is a top priority for Microsoft. Chandok noted the importance of preparing developers and engineers to be AI-ready, saying that “skilling at speed and at scale is really important, as is preparing for this new world with new roles and new agents working alongside you.”

Microsoft has already trained 2.4 million people in India on AI, with 65% of them women and 74% from tier-two and tier-three cities. The company aims to expand this to 10 million employees, highlighting its commitment to large-scale training initiatives in the country.

The tech giant is focusing on developing smarter, easier-to-deploy, and more secure AI agents that respect privacy and meet enterprise-grade security standards.

According to Chandok, businesses are already embracing AI, with more than 90% planning to integrate agents into their workforce in the next 12 to 18 months, and 59% already working with them in some form.

As Microsoft accelerates its AI initiatives in India, Chandok remains optimistic about the future, stating, “I genuinely believe AI will augment all of us. I don’t think it will replace people, but it will truly augment them—and we have to be prepared for it.”

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