Reshaping Indian ads with AI storytelling

From bridging linguistic divides to crafting laser-focused personalization, AI has evolved as a creative partner

- Gaurav Laghate

A light breeze drifted through a small creative agency in Mumbai's Dadar district one summer morning. The design team, huddled around their laptops, felt the pressure mounting: a major client had just announced a nationwide campaign rollout, with deadlines looming. Miles away in a Delhi high-rise, a senior brand manager scrolled through social media feedback, worried their latest ad push wasn't connecting outside metro cities. Meanwhile, in Bengaluru, an e-commerce startup was about to launch a new fashion line but struggled to craft messaging that appealed both to cosmopolitan millennials and more conservative families.

Three different corners of India, three distinct advertising challenges, yet one transformative solution—artificial intelligence (AI)-driven storytelling. Once considered futuristic, AI is now rapidly reshaping the nation's advertising landscape.

From bridging linguistic divides to crafting laser-focused personalization, AI has evolved from buzzword to essential creative partner.

The human touch—amplified Unlike traditional automation tools, generative AI models like ChatGPT do more than just speed up repetitive tasks. They tap into vast datasets—ranging from pop culture references to local dialects—and produce creative outputs. When a Bengaluru-based fashion retailer tested AI-generated ad copy, the variety of taglines in English, Kannada and colloquial Hinglish was impressive. After feeding the AI a few prompts about the brand's vibrant identity, the marketing team was flooded with punchy lines that mixed local phrases with pop culture references.