We’re living through what might be marketing’s most transformative moment since the internet went mainstream. Artificial intelligence isn’t just another buzzword cluttering our LinkedIn feeds—it’s fundamentally changing how we connect with customers, create content, and measure success. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: while everyone’s talking about AI, most brands are still figuring out how to use it without losing their soul.

Personalisation That Actually Feels Personal

Do you remember when personalising meant putting someone’s first name in an email? Those days seem like a long time ago now. AI-powered personalisation engines today look at hundreds of data points, like how people browse, how often they buy, how often they engage, and even what time of day they are most likely to open an email, to make experiences that feel truly unique.
Take a look at how well Flipkart and Amazon India have done this. Their recommendation engines don’t just suggest products; they also know that a customer looking for ethnic wear in January has a different reason for doing so than someone looking for the same items during Diwali. They take into account things like regional holidays, local shopping habits, and even language preferences to make experiences that are truly unique.

We recently worked with a D2C fashion brand targeting tier-2 and tier-3 cities. We implemented AI-driven customer segmentation that went beyond metros versus non-metros. The system created micro-segments based on shopping behaviour during regional festivals—Onam in Kerala, Durga Puja in Bengal, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu. The result? A 47% increase in festive campaign engagement and a 31% boost in repeat purchases. Customers felt we understood their cultural context, not just their demographics.

The technology isn’t the problem anymore. The hardest part is giving these systems good data that shows how different India is and asking the right questions. In a market where language, culture, and buying power change a lot every few hundred kilometres, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work.

The Content Creation Conundrum

Here’s where things get interesting, and honestly, a bit controversial. There has been a huge increase in AI-generated content in the last year. Tools can now write product descriptions in several Indian languages, make social media posts, and even write whole blog posts in a matter of seconds. I’ve tried a lot of them, and some of the results are really impressive.

But here’s what keeps me up at night: in our rush to scale content production, are we sacrificing the very thing that makes marketing work—human connection?

Take Zomato’s marketing as a counter-example. Yes, they likely use AI for data analysis and targeting, but their content? Pure human wit, cultural insight, and timing that no AI could replicate. That’s why their memes go viral and competitors’ AI-generated posts get ignored.

I’m not a purist who believes AI has no place in content creation. I use it daily for ideation, headline testing, and even first drafts. But the brands winning right now aren’t the ones pumping out purely AI-generated content. They’re the ones using AI as a collaborator, not a replacement.

One useful tip I have is to use AI to write product descriptions or first drafts, and then have your team add local flavour, cultural references, and that special something that can’t be put into words. AI can give you ten ideas for how to market a saree collection, but only a person can tell you if you should use Sabyasachi’s style, a Bollywood trend, or a regional weaving tradition to connect with your target audience.

The ROI Reality Check

Let’s talk about the tools that are actually delivering results in 2025, because not all marketing automation is created equal.

Indian companies that get a lot of customer questions in different languages and time zones need conversational AI. Tata Cliq and Nykaa are two companies that use advanced chatbots that can switch between English, Hindi, and regional languages in the middle of a conversation. These chatbots can answer questions about anything from COD options to serviceability by pin code, and they know when to ask a person for help. It’s not just about getting things done quickly; it’s also about helping people who might be shopping at midnight from a small town where English isn’t their first language.

Predictive analytics platforms are proving their worth, especially for India’s booming quick-commerce sector. Zepto, Blinkit, and Swiggy Instamart use AI to predict demand patterns that account for local festivals, cricket matches (yes, IPL season changes everything), weather patterns, and even neighbourhood-specific preferences. This isn’t fortune-telling—it’s pattern recognition at massive scale in an incredibly complex market.

WhatsApp Business API integrated with AI automation has been a game-changer. With over 500 million WhatsApp users in India, brands that have automated order confirmations, delivery updates, and customer support on WhatsApp while maintaining a conversational, personal tone are seeing dramatic improvements in customer satisfaction and repeat purchase rates.

The Human Element Cannot Be Automated.

Here’s my controversial take: the more sophisticated our marketing technology becomes, the more valuable human marketers become—but only if we evolve our role.

AI excels at pattern recognition, data processing, and optimisation at scale. It can analyse customer behaviour faster than any human team. But it can’t understand why a particular ad might be insensitive during a specific regional festival. It can’t feel the emotional weight of a campaign celebrating India’s diversity. It can’t look at market trends and make the kind of intuitive creative leaps that turned campaigns like Cred’s IPL ads or Swiggy’s quirky brand voice into cultural phenomena.

The marketers thriving in this AI era aren’t fighting the technology—they’re partnering with it. They’re using automation to eliminate tedious tasks so they can focus on strategy, creativity, and the deeply human work of building brands that resonate in India’s complex, multilingual, multicultural landscape.

The question isn’t whether AI will transform marketing. It already has. The question is: will you use it to become a more efficient order-taker, or a more impactful strategist who understands both technology and the nuances of Indian consumer behaviour? 

The technology is neutral. What we do with it defines everything.