While 98% of Indian knowledge workers use AI at work, 86% say they lack the time and capacity to coordinate – putting a hard ceiling on team-level productivity
98% of Indian knowledge workers say they use AI at work; but only 53% have embedded AI into their flows of work.
86% of Indian knowledge workers say that with everyone in execution mode, there’s a lack of time or capacity to coordinate; only 58% feel they’re working at a comfortable pace.
Knowledge workers in India are juggling 8 projects at a time, and are spending 40% of their working hours on tasks unrelated to their actual jobs – with 73% spotting duplicative projects across teams.
Hyderabad, India, 28th April 2026 – Atlassian Corporation (NASDAQ: TEAM), a leading provider of team collaboration and productivity software, today released its latest research report, the State of Teams 2026, revealing that as AI accelerates individual execution, team coordination is emerging as the biggest constraint to company-wide ROI – especially as work becomes more cross-functional and AI-generated output flows through disconnected systems.
Globally, the report estimates that layering AI on top of disconnected workflows is creating a growing “fragmentation tax” – costing the Fortune 500 an estimated USD$161B annually¹. The research also finds that only 24% of executives focus their AI implementations at the team level, even though teams are responsible for 80% of the work. The findings also reveal that executives are 84% more likely to invest in tools and technologies than in people and skills.
Avani Prabhakar, Chief People and AI Enablement Officer, Atlassian said, “AI is accelerating some tasks, which is beneficial. However, when speed is pursued without collaboration, it leads to costly confusion. In fact, solo AI users tend to worsen the situation: they prioritise speed over quality, resulting in issues that compound later. Relying solely on individual AI usage cannot deliver genuine return on investment. Without teamwork, progress stalls.
India stands out as one of the most AI‑forward markets in the State of Teams 2026 research. AI adoption and integration is significantly higher than in many mature markets – but so are the signals that teams are struggling to stay aligned as the pace of work intensifies.
The report finds that 98% of Indian knowledge workers use AI at work, and 53% say they have embedded AI into their flows of work – well above the global average of 29%. At the same time, however, 86% say that when everyone is in "execution mode", there is a lack of time or capacity to coordinate.
Only 58% of workers in India report that they are operating at a comfortable pace. Many are juggling eight projects simultaneously and spending 40% of their working hours on tasks unrelated to their actual jobs, suggesting that fragmentation and context‑switching are deeply impacting day‑to‑day work.
This lack of coordination is also showing up in duplicated efforts and sub‑optimal collaboration. 73% of Indian knowledge workers say they frequently find other teams working on duplicative projects or initiatives, and 43% feel their existing technology stack does not support collaboration well, despite significant AI investments.
On the enablement front, 47% of Indian workers report having extensive opportunities for AI learning and skill development, and 19% say they already treat AI as a teammate—rather than just a tool or assistant—indicating that a more advanced human+AI collaboration mindset is beginning to take hold.
While much public discussion focuses on AI adoption rates, the State of Teams 2026 report highlights that the real unlock lies in how teams coordinate around AI, not just how often they use it. The research identifies a small but significant group of high-performing teams – about 14% of the sample – who are modernising their teamwork by pairing AI with a unified work system.
These teams build their system of work on three core pillars:
Context: Clear, shared goals underpinned by accessible, trusted knowledge that both humans and AI agents can discover and act on.
Workflows: Explicit roles and handoffs for people and agents; an “async‑first” approach to status and updates; fewer, more focused meetings with tighter feedback loops.
Culture: Intentional investment in enablement, experimentation, and visible quick wins that build AI fluency and trust over time.
According to the report, these top teams are 9.4x more likely to say AI increases collaboration, 5.6x more likely to report better planning and prioritisation, and 13x more likely to feel more connected to their teammates as AI becomes part of everyday work.
“A lot of companies are pouring significant energy into the technology side of the transformation of AI and not nearly enough into the people side. To get true value, AI can’t just be a technology shift; HR leaders should be at the helm of the transformation. If you’re not helping teams experiment, shift and change how they work, and embrace new ways of working you’re just adding AI on top of an already chaotic system,” Prabhakar concludes.
For further details around the report visit: http://atlassian.com/blog/state-of-teams-2026
The State of Teams 2026 report is based on research conducted by Atlassian’s Teamwork Lab, a group of scientists dedicated to developing best practices for modern teams. Double‑blind survey data was collected in January and February 2026 from:
12,035 knowledge workers across the U.S., U.K., Australia, India, Germany, and France, spanning a broad range of departments, roles, and seniority levels.
172 Fortune 1000 executives (VP level or higher), supplemented by qualitative interviews with 20+ Fortune 500 executives.
The findings were analysed to understand how AI is changing team dynamics, coordination, and performance across markets.
¹The fragmentation tax is calculated by mapping wasted time and AI-induced team coordination friction against average Fortune 500 labor costs.
Atlassian unleashes the potential of every team. A recognised leader in software development, work management, and enterprise service management software, Atlassian enables enterprises to connect their business and technology teams with an AI‑powered system of work that unlocks productivity at scale. Atlassian’s collaboration software powers over 80% of the Fortune 500 and 350,000+ customers worldwide—including NASA, Rivian, Deutsche Bank, United Airlines, and Bosch—who rely on our solutions to drive work forward. Learn more at https://atlassian.com.