Is Brand India ready for agentic AI and autonomous marketers?

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Indian advertising and marketing, the emergence of AI agents and Agentic AI is reshaping how brands connect with consumers. As the global AI agents market is projected to surge from $3.66 billion in 2023 to a staggering $139.12 billion by 2033, Indian agencies are poised to leverage this technology to gain a competitive edge in both domestic and international markets.

For Indian advertising agencies, the integration of AI agents presents a significant competitive advantage. These tools can generate culturally relevant ad copy, design visuals that appeal to local sensibilities, and even produce personalized video content – a particularly important feature given that India is the world’s largest consumer of online video.

Agent 00 AI?

The transformative potential of AI in marketing is evident, with experts across the industry weighing in on its impact and future prospects. Medhavi Singh, Country Head of Criteo India, emphasizes the shift towards integrated ecosystems, saying, “As Martech shifts from fragmented tools to integrated ecosystems, AI will optimize bidding, adjust campaigns in real-time, and enhance ad spend efficiency.”

This integration is crucial in a geography where, according to the latest dentsu-e4m report, India's digital ad market is projected to reach Rs 59,200 crore by the end of 2025, growing at an impressive 20.2% year-on-year.

Delving deeper into the technical aspects, Raahul Seshadri, Director of Tech & AI at WebEngage, introduces the concept of AI agents learning through experience, noting, “The primary technique in use today for this is Reinforcement Learning, where Agents ‘learn from experience’ rather than ‘learning from data.’” This approach allows for dynamic, hyper-personalized marketing that evolves with consumer behavior.

However, the integration of AI agents into marketing strategies is not without its challenges as Seshadri notes, “Creating in-house a fully Agentic AI system that leverages LLMs effectively can be challenging, especially due to the need for continuous learning and feedback loops.” He emphasizes the importance of expertise in AI ethics, data security, and compliance when implementing these systems.

Singh also stresses the importance of ethical AI practices, stressing, “Advertisers must adapt to these changes by embracing ethical AI practices that prioritize consumer well-being and respect consumer autonomy.” This sentiment is echoed across the industry, as the balance between innovation and trust becomes increasingly crucial.

In the context of India's rapidly growing digital economy, agentic AI enables marketing agencies to analyze vast amounts of consumer data, creating tailored experiences that resonate with the diverse Indian market. AI agents can autonomously manage complex workflows, from real-time campaign adjustments to powering multilingual chatbots that cater to India's linguistic diversity.

Venugopal Ganganna, Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer at LS Digital, says, “Our creative teams are seeing value in Generative AI agents participating in brainstorming and creating thought starters, which are then elevated by human creative intelligence.” This hybrid approach combines the efficiency of AI with the nuanced understanding of human creatives.

The Future of AI agents in Indian Marketing

As AI agents and Agentic AI continue to evolve, their impact on the Indian marketing landscape is set to deepen. The technology's ability to analyze vast amounts of data, create personalized content, and optimize campaigns in real-time aligns perfectly with the needs of India's digital-first consumers.

However, as Ganganna points out, there's a need for a balanced approach. “From a consumer lens, marketers may face challenges in terms of low trust when dealing with AI-driven automated conversations. There's a need to ensure a balanced approach of marrying human oversight with AI capabilities,” he says.

Chirag Shah, Vice President - Brand Solutions, Schbang, says that in the near future, “Customer service will be entirely AI-driven, eliminating the need for traditional call centers. AI-powered agents will handle consumer queries, complaints, and even emotional interactions through natural language processing (NLP). Companies like OpenAI (ChatGPT) and Google (Gemini) are already developing AI assistants that can carry out human-like conversations. In the future, brands will integrate these AI agents into customer service to provide 24/7 automated support.”

AI will autonomously manage advertising campaigns, from content creation to placement and performance optimization. AI-driven models will analyze real-time consumer behavior, adjust creative elements on the fly, and maximize campaign effectiveness without human intervention.

Pointing out that the best campaigns will be the ones where AI handles the heavy lifting, and marketers focus on strategy, emotion, and brand storytelling, Kavita G Rao, CMO, Findability Sciences, notes, “With Agentic AI, which autonomously makes decisions and adapts campaigns in real-time, the risk is over-reliance—marketers must stay in control. Data privacy is another concern—AI thrives on data, but consumers demand transparency. The key is to let AI, especially Agentic AI, handle efficiency and scale, while humans drive creativity, strategy, and ethical decision-making.”