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The advertising and marketing fraternity finds itself at a critical crossroad. In India, a staggering 97 per cent of professionals now intentionally use AI at work, and 67 per cent admit they can’t complete their jobs without it, according to KPMG’s 2025 global report 'Trust, Attitudes and Use of Artificial Intelligence’.
What was once a realm ruled by human instinct and imagination, is now increasingly shaped and sometimes overtaken by machine intelligence. The tools meant to fuel ideas may be rewiring how we think, work, and even create.
A double-edged disruption
The dependence on AI is no longer a future possibility, it is today’s reality. In addition to the 97 per cent of Indian professionals who actively use AI, 81 per cent rely on its outputs without verifying their accuracy.
Globally, 66 per cent do the same, and 56 per cent of employees admit to making mistakes because of it. The paradox lies in the performance boost it offers. Over 82 per cent of Indian workers credit AI for better efficiency, quality, and innovation. Yet 44 per cent say it has also increased their workload and stress, says the KPMG report.
Shubhranshu Singh, Chief Marketing Officer, Commercial Vehicles Business Unit at Tata Motors, said the influence of AI is pervasive and that people often make the mistake of thinking of it as just a smart piece of software. He explained that traditional software tools deliver deterministic, fixed outcomes, like 2 + 2 always equalling 4. AI, on the other hand, is dynamic and learns iteratively from every bit of data it acquires.
He said that this dynamism is actually AI’s strength. Every data point is in conversation with every other data point, and that is what makes AI a force multiplier for the creative fraternity and the world of media and marketing. He added that large language models having conversations is what has captivated people today. According to him, humans are the only species to write and communicate in language, and when a machine demonstrates fluency, it amazes us.
He explained that domain expertise will become universally accessible and that knowledge will no longer remain the preserve of a privileged few. The process of arriving at outcomes will also be commonly accessible, he said. Once that happens, Singh pointed out, the only differentiator will be task motivation. Why are you doing this campaign? Who are you targeting?
He referenced Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of infinite creative driving growth for small and medium enterprises. Singh pointed out that AI never forgets, never tires, never gets distracted, and never gets heartbroken. At a cutting-edge level, it is superior, he said. However, he warned that not every machine-generated output is better than a human one. He explained that there must be a human in the loop, as synthetic outputs, while precise, lack the organic relatability that human outputs offer.
He said that humans are social animals and that even in brand-building, reputation is built by people and their consistent actions. He cited Tata’s 150-year legacy as an example of brand trust rooted in human effort.
Singh mentioned that AI can certainly move the needle but noted that people still prefer to speak to a human when something goes wrong. He also believes AI will bring a quantum leap in automation, execution speed, and the ability to synthesise diverse viewpoints. But when it comes to emotional resonance, the jury is still out.
He added that corporations have a natural advantage in AI adoption due to greater resources. However, knowing how and where to apply AI effectively remains a work in progress. He claimed that the real, sustainable advantage lies in understanding application, and even that edge is temporary.
He drew a parallel with banking, saying that while a generation ago, customers waited with brass tokens, today almost all banking is digital. Yet bankers are not obsolete, they have moved to higher-value tasks. In his view, AI will be a value multiplier, not a job destroyer.
He also pointed out that the traditional agency-client model was built around billing for time. But when AI can deliver outcomes at warp speed, Singh believes clients will stop paying for time and start paying for results. This, he said, will reshape agency-client relationships and dismantle scarcity-driven business models.
Despite the changes, Singh said he remains optimistic as he spends days exploring AI tools for creative visualisation and is amazed by how much they improve daily. In his view, AI could be mankind’s greatest blunder or its greatest invention. He believes it is mankind’s last great invention.
A shifting creative landscape
Rohan Chincholi, Chief Digital Officer at Havas Digital, said that across tech, creative, and media, AI has already become integral. He explained that earlier, teams worked to ensure their thinking was robust, factoring in both qualitative and quantitative parameters. Today, he said, the same person can handle three projects and still maintain efficiency
He shared an anecdote about MoaFest, where Ajit Varghese prepared for a World Menstruation Day meeting by inputting keywords into AI and generating ten ideas on the spot. With human intervention, some ideas were filtered out, but the rest were powerful. That, he said, is the value AI brings, it fuels thinking.
Chincholi said he used to feel guilty using ChatGPT. He would write a rough article and ask it to enhance the language. When he liked a line, he would feel conflicted, thinking he was paid to write it himself. Over time, he realised that consistent use improved his prompt engineering, a skill he now considers essential.
He noted that your AI output is only as good as your input, regardless of the medium be it creatives, music, or content. He shared that during their media day, their CEO Mohit Joshi asked for a theme song, and within 15 minutes, using Suno AI, they created an anthem on the spot.
While AI inspires him, Chincholi admitted that it also scares him a little. He said his ChatGPT instance is now trained to write in his style and that generative AI is now almost synonymous with AI itself, much like how "Xerox" became a verb. He mentioned that Google Trends now shows generative AI outpacing the term "AI."
He said the future lies in agentic AI. Today’s AI can inform you that your fridge is open. Tomorrow it will shut it for you. But this next leap, he warned, also demands responsible AI like transparency, fairness, and human-centric design. While agencies may not face high-stakes risks, for sectors like insurance or product design, this could be a game changer.
Amitesh Rao, CEO-South Asia, Leo, explained we are no longer dependent solely on the ability to write or design, because technology has democratized execution. What we need now are diverse thinkers like engineers, lawyers, dentists, who bring fresh perspectives.
Rao added that creative thinking is still the domain of bright minds, but thanks to technology, they can now express it in more ways than ever before.
Finding the balance
AI is not going away. It is evolving fast and reshaping the contours of creativity. The question is not whether AI will replace talent, but whether humans will allow their creative instincts to atrophy.
Machines might be faster and more efficient, but they do not feel. They do not reminisce about their first heartbreak or childhood summers. Creativity comes from those messy, human moments, as per Singh.
Rao said, “In an era where machines assist but do not replace human ingenuity, advertising is becoming less about the message and more about meaning. And as these leaders show, the future of storytelling lies in adaptability, authenticity, and purpose.”
So this World Marketing Day, the real question marketers must ask is not whether AI will take their jobs. It is whether they will stop thinking because AI has started.
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