India's advertising industry is undergoing a radical transformation as major consumer brands rapidly embrace artificial intelligence to create marketing campaigns. This shift is turning the traditionally resource-heavy ad production process into a cost-efficient technological utility, but it's simultaneously sparking fears of widespread brand dilution and creative homogenization.
The AI Advertising Gold Rush
From global giants like Coca-Cola to established Indian players such as Pidilite Industries and a wave of startups, companies are pivoting to generative AI tools like Google's Gemini and OpenAI's ChatGPT to produce quick, low-cost advertisements. This allows for the launch of sharply-targeted campaigns and has driven a boom in specialized AI marketing tools.
Mumbai-based healthy-food brand Naturally Yours has completely shifted its creative work to AI after a decade of relying on humans. Vinod Chendhil, the company's Founder and CEO, reported a significant multiplier in their Return on Ad Spend (ROAS). "We now also spend less than half the time than we did before," Chendhil told Mint.
Similarly, beauty and personal care brand Plum Goodness uses external AI platforms for generating static images, videos, and ad copies. Shankar Prasad, its Founder and CEO, confirmed that AI has dramatically crashed the time from concept to final draft, marking the most significant impact on their creative processes.
Investment Floods into AI Marketing Startups
The rush to automate creative content is funneling substantial capital into the generative AI space. Startups are attracting significant funding to scale their operations.
Hypergro, which focuses on AI-driven video generation to boost conversions, recently secured a ₹7 crore pre-Series A funding round led by Eternal Capital.
Dashverse, which runs tools including the AI-led microdrama app DashReels, raised a $13 million Series A from Peak XV Partners and Z47 in August to scale its AI-native storytelling engine.
The trend is global. Chocolate maker Mondelez International announced a $40 million investment in a new generative AI tool to cut marketing costs. In India, besides Pidilite's Fevikwik, companies like Star Health and Cadbury India have utilized AI for various campaigns this year.
The Creative Cost and Concerns of Automation
While the efficiency gains are clear, industry veterans are sounding the alarm about the potential downsides. The core fear is that the pursuit of speed and cost-cutting is risking the very soul of branding: authenticity and unique creative vision.
"The drawback of AI is its inability to take a really big creative leap. And there is a certain sameness to its output," said Sumanto Chattopadhyay, an independent creative director. He noted a recognizable 'chhaap' or stamp in ChatGPT-generated text and an 'AI look and feel' in images and videos, which is replacing unique individual voices.
A July 2025 study by Naukri revealed that more than 40% of respondents in advertising and marketing feared AI tools could significantly reduce creativity in their roles.
Ujwal Sutaria, Founder and General Partner at TDV Partners, highlighted the strategic dilemma: "The more reliant marketers become on AI to produce content, the less differentiated that content will feel... If everyone is using the same tool to generate their ads, the market risks becoming flooded with sameness that ultimately erodes brand authenticity."
This is particularly critical now, as marketing investments have become a key differentiating factor for brands fighting for visibility on competitive e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms. The ability to deploy hyper-personalized ads is essential for bolstering market share in crowded categories.
Experts agree that the future lies in collaboration, not replacement. "The best ads will now come from a collaboration between human creativity and AI. And the ad person who is the most creative in their use of AI is the one who will come out on top," Chattopadhyay added.
Siddharth Jhawar, Country Manager at advertising tech company Moloco, echoed this, stating that a practitioner's intuition of consumer behaviour and an artist's ability to envision new concepts are nuanced and tough to replace. The industry now faces a pivotal choice: balancing undeniable efficiency against the long-term risk of eroding hard-won brand equity.
