Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Predict Accelerated Business Growth with AI Advertising Tools

• New research from Amazon Ads shows that 89% of Indian small and medium-sized business (SMB) marketing leaders believe AI advertising tools will drive future growth by freeing up time for strategic business priorities.
• SMBs estimate they could save 5.2 hours per week – equivalent to about 30 working days annually – using AI to create and manage advertising campaigns.
• While nearly three-quarters of SMBs are currently using or testing AI tools, 60% admitted feeling overwhelmed by the number of AI advertising tools available, and 55% didn’t know where to start.

December 2, 2025 – New research from Amazon Ads reveals that small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across India are bullish about the future impact of AI in advertising on their business. The research shows that 89% of SMB marketing leaders believe that AI in advertising will help support future growth by creating more time for strategic business priorities. The study also found that 71% of SMBs are already either using or actively testing AI tools for advertising purposes. However, many face challenges in implementation, with over half feeling overwhelmed by the number of tools available and others eager to adopt AI in advertising but uncertain how to begin.

Unlocking future growth

SMB marketing leaders estimate they could save approximately 5.2 hours each week—about 30 working days annually—by implementing AI tools to create and manage their advertising campaigns. They plan to use this time to drive business growth in various ways: 29% intend to focus more on sales activities, 23% on developing team skills, and 28% on exploring new marketplaces and channels they previously lacked time to pursue.

SMBs also expect a 31% reduction in advertising costs over the next year thanks to AI-enabled efficiencies through reduced time on data analysis (49%), better predicted campaign performance (34%), improved campaign reporting and optimization (32%) and media planning support (37%).

AI in advertising today

Of the 71% of SMB marketing leaders currently using or testing AI advertising tools, many are already seeing tangible benefits. Those implementing these tools are enhancing their advertising campaigns through automated visual creation (23%), improved performance forecasting (14%), and automated ad copy generation (14%)—capabilities that were once available only to businesses with substantial resources. The study also found that SMBs expect to experience additional benefits to their advertising campaigns in the future, including improved audience reach (52%), accelerated creative content generation (49%), and automation of repetitive advertising operations (35%).

Confidence gaps remain

Despite widespread use and testing of AI tools, confidence isn’t universal among SMBs. The study found that 60% of marketing leaders feel overwhelmed by the number of tools available, 55% are excited about AI in advertising but don’t know where to start, and 35% admitted feeling like they’re “faking it” when using AI—highlighting the need for easy-to-use advertising solutions that can be adopted without technical expertise or a steep learning curve.

“Time is one of the biggest constraints for small and medium businesses, and every hour saved can go toward building stronger customer connections or developing new products,” said Kapil Sharma, Director of Amazon Ads India. “That’s why we’ve designed our AI tools to be easy to adopt and use. It is encouraging to see Indian SMBs use solutions like the AI Image Generator and Creative Studio to quickly create effective ads, while reclaiming valuable time to invest in growth.”

Control still matters

Despite these implementation challenges, SMBs have a clear vision of how AI best fits into their advertising strategy. The research shows that SMBs want to preserve human involvement in key decisions, particularly final creative approval (43%), budget allocation (42%), and understanding cultural and emotional context (46%). Amazon Ads AI tools such as Creative Studio, Image Generator and the recently launched Video Generator have helped remove traditional barriers to advertising for SMBs. This balanced perspective indicates that SMBs see AI as a powerful assistant that complements rather than replaces human expertise and judgment.

“As a growing brand, creating high-quality visuals used to be a time-consuming process for us. With Amazon Creative Studio, we can now create and test multiple product concepts in the time it previously took to develop just one. This has not only reduced our production efforts but also contributed to better engagement across our campaigns, improving our ad efficiency by 20% and helping us reach new audiences more effectively,” says Sukriti Mendiratta, Founder, Panda’s Box.