AI-powered advertising helps 75 per cent of Indian SMBs drive growth

MUMBAI: For India’s small businesses, AI is no longer just artificial intelligence, it is advertising intelligence. Three in four Indian small and medium businesses (SMBs) say AI-enabled advertising activity or strategy has supported their business growth, according to a new study by Amazon Ads, highlighting how the technology is moving beyond ad creation and into the wider business playbook.

The study found that 87 per cent of respondents believe AI-powered advertising tools have helped them access channels, audiences or formats that previously felt out of reach, including streaming TV and other video formats.

The shift is also visible in Amazon’s own advertising ecosystem. The share of Amazon advertisers in India using AI-powered tools has grown 77 per cent year-on-year, while SMBs generated 62 per cent more ad creatives using those tools in Q1 2026 compared with the previous year, according to Kapil Sharma, Director, Amazon Ads India.

Streaming TV, once seen as a playground mainly for brands with deeper pockets, is becoming more accessible to smaller advertisers. Three years ago, 56 per cent of SMBs considered streaming TV a viable advertising channel. Among those who found it inaccessible, 48 per cent cited cost, 39 per cent pointed to high minimum spending requirements and 36 per cent cited the complexity of planning or buying campaigns.

For SMBs interested in TV or streaming TV, the appeal is clear. 62 per cent believe the format can help them reach new audiences, while 59 per cent see it as a way to increase brand awareness and 48 per cent believe it can improve credibility.

AI is also helping smaller businesses look beyond domestic borders. Among respondents who had considered cross-border campaigns inaccessible three years ago, 56 per cent now regard them as more accessible. Amazon said its Seller Assistant provides AI-powered guidance around expansion, including product recommendations, market-demand insights and country-specific compliance requirements.

The international opportunity is translating into broader business ambitions, with 59 per cent of respondents saying AI-enabled advertising has supported expansion into new countries and 58 per cent saying it has helped them launch new product categories.

Creative work remains one of the biggest use cases. 88 per cent of SMBs said they are likely to use AI to create advertising assets, while 85 per cent said they are likely to use it for streaming ads. At the same time, 68 per cent said AI has unlocked greater creativity in their advertising.

The technology is also making its way into campaign management. 65 per cent said AI enables faster optimisation, 62 per cent said it helps them find customers more quickly and protect budgets, while 55 per cent said it helps them compete with larger brands with bigger advertising spends.

Yet the AI takeover has not extended to the final say. Human judgement remains firmly in the driver’s seat for most SMB advertisers. Business owners remain the final decision-makers for 40 per cent of respondents using AI in advertising, while 32 per cent use AI tools with human review and 19 per cent leave final decisions to marketing leads. Only 2 per cent reported fully automated advertising decisions without human review.

The appetite for AI is expected to grow further, with 92 per cent of Indian SMBs surveyed saying the technology will be important to their future competitiveness. Its anticipated role also stretches well beyond campaign execution, with 64 per cent identifying content generation, 58 per cent strategic planning and 53 per cent competitor analysis as future applications.

The study also points to women’s ethnic wear brand Klosia as an example of AI-led advertising in practice. Founder Vishal Singh Sisodiya said Amazon Ads’ AI tools helped the brand turn a static product listing into a video advertisement. According to the company, 80 per cent of customers reached through its Smart Streaming TV campaign were new to the brand, while combining the AI-generated video campaign with Search Ads drove three times more purchases.

With 75 per cent of SMBs connecting AI-enabled advertising with business growth, the findings point to a broader change in the role of AI. For smaller businesses, it is increasingly becoming less about making an advert faster and more about making previously expensive, complicated or inaccessible advertising opportunities feel within reach.