How the Top 25 Universities in India and the World Score on AI Readiness

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When we launched Campus Score inside #MerittoAILabs, our aim was simple: give institutions their first-ever AI Readiness Report Card. Not a long audit. Not a generic checklist. But one clear, AI-powered score that shows how ready a university is for an enrollment world being reshaped by AI.

To put it to the test, we scanned thousands of digital signals across the top 25 universities internationally and the top 25 universities in India (as per NIRF rankings). The results, visualized in our Campus Score grids are revealing. Even the most prestigious names, from Ivy League giants to IITs, show both strengths and blind spots when it comes to AI readiness.

What the Scores Show

International Top 25

Global leaders like Yale, MIT, and Stanford scored strongly, reinforcing their reputation for digital maturity. Yet, the picture isn’t perfect. Several household names, including Cambridge and Harvard, landed lower than expected, highlighting leaks in student conversion journeys and inconsistent communication on trust and aid. What this reveals is that even the world’s most recognized universities are not immune to digital blind spots.

India’s NIRF Top 25

Domestically, the IITs (Madras, Delhi, Bombay) and AIIMS Delhi scored at the top of the list, showing strength in digital visibility and brand trust. But many other universities within the NIRF 25m including respected state and central institutions, show clear gaps in international readiness, funnel efficiency, and transparent scholarship communication. For India, this signals both a challenge and an opportunity: digital transformation will be key to global competitiveness.

Together, these findings show that AI readiness isn’t about prestige or ranking. It’s about how well an institution performs across six critical touchpoints of the student journey.

The Six Touchpoints of AI Readiness

Your Campus Score is more than a headline number. It is backed by a detailed rating across six dimensions that directly impact how students discover, trust, and choose your institution.

1. AI Discoverability

Students today don’t just search on Google. They are asking ChatGPT, Bing AI, and other AI-driven tools for recommendations. If your institution isn’t showing up in these responses, you may already be invisible to your next batch of applicants. Discoverability doesn’t stop at SEO anymore, it extends to how AI models interpret, index, and present your brand in answers. The higher your discoverability, the more likely you are to stay relevant in an AI-first search era.

2. Brand and Reputation

A course might attract attention, but it’s the brand that wins a student’s trust. This dimension measures whether your institution’s identity comes across as clear, consistent, and credible across digital touchpoints. Are you projecting authority and recognition online? Do students and parents perceive you as modern, trustworthy, and distinctive? Even legacy institutions must continually prove their relevance in the digital space.

3. Trust and Outcomes

For students and families making one of the most important investments of their lives, trust is non-negotiable. This score reflects how effectively your institution communicates outcomes, alumni success stories, accreditations, placements, faculty credentials, research excellence. Without tangible proof, families are left with just promises. In an era where return on investment (ROI) drives decision-making, universities must showcase real, measurable impact.

4. Conversion Funnel

Attracting student interest is only the beginning. The conversion funnel measures how seamlessly that interest translates into inquiries and applications. Every confusing form, unclear call-to-action, or mobile-unfriendly page introduces friction. And friction silently kills conversions. A strong funnel ensures that the journey from awareness to application is intuitive, quick, and reassuring, without drop-offs that cost you students you’ve already worked hard to attract.

5. Scholarship and Aid

For many students, affordability is the deciding factor between applying and walking away. Scholarships and aid are not just financial tools, they are signals of accessibility. This dimension assesses how visible, understandable, and inclusive your financial support information is. If aid options are hidden or complicated, many families will assume your institution is out of reach, regardless of program quality. Transparency here builds both trust and inclusivity.

6. International Readiness

Global students add diversity, visibility, and sustainability to enrollment pipelines, but only if institutions are prepared to serve them. This touchpoint looks at how well you communicate with international applicants: visa clarity, global program appeal, language accessibility, and support for life on campus. Universities with strong international readiness project themselves as global destinations, not just local options. For Indian institutions in particular, this is a major opportunity to grow global competitiveness.

Why This Matters

The analysis of the top 25 universities in India and globally proves that no one is immune from gaps. If Yale can improve discoverability, if Harvard can lose leads in its funnel, and if top-ranked IITs can lag on international readiness, then every institution has blind spots waiting to be fixed.

That is exactly why Campus Score exists. It doesn’t just score you. It shows you why you scored that way and gives AI-powered recommendations prioritized for impact, so your teams know exactly what to fix today to grow tomorrow.

See Where You Stand. Compare With the Best.

Your AI Readiness Score already exists. The only question is whether you are ready to see it.

👉 Run your free Campus Score today

Every university claims to be preparing for the future. But the truth is, the future is already here. Students are searching differently, comparing differently, and deciding differently.

Even the world’s best are not perfect. The question is: will your institution get ahead of the curve or be left behind? Start with your Campus Score.

Disclaimer: The scores shown are illustrative AI-readiness results generated by Campus Score and are not official rankings, endorsements, or benchmarks. Results may vary each time you run the model, depending on the LLM output.