These are uncertain times. From flattening consumer journeys to turbocharging campaign execution and performance, AI has permeated every layer of the industry. This was glaringly brought to light at the recent ad:tech New Delhi 2026, where AI was the subtext in every panel and keynote.
From the rise of agentic AI to the evolving role of creativity and human insight, the conference spotlighted the forces reshaping the industry in this AI-powered decade. Global leaders set the tone, defining narratives and showcasing technology solutions. Marketers spoke of how they’re navigating this period of churn and building systems that work.
Here are some key takeaways from ad:tech New Delhi 2026.
From clicks to conversations
One idea that captivated marketers was the idea of the invisible search. In particular was how AI increasingly sits between the consumer and the purchase decision. Currently, 80% of Google searches end without a click when an AI overview is present.
As AI reshapes search and discovery, marketing becomes less about individual campaigns and more about system design. It’s no longer just about ranking or optimising for clicks, but about being cited, trusted, and interpretable in AI-driven environments.
Paul D’Arcy, chief marketing officer at Moloco, broke down three ways that brands can be ‘discovered’ on AI platforms . His suggestions include investment in mobile apps (which he called the stickiest digital surface a brand can own), deployment of loyalty programmes and rethinking the channel mix.
In a separate session, Zero-Click Strategy: Winning in the Age of Invisible Search, Adam Goodman, director, AI in Advertising APAC at Microsoft Advertising, stressed that while marketers build for AI visibility, they need to understand that this visibility is only as strong as their SEO game.
“To appear in AI search, you have to have the foundations for SEO,” he told Campaign. Goodman said brands need to look at three things today: active indexing, understanding how their content is being cited in AI answers today and lastly, making sure that all their content is structured and readable so that AI assistants can access that information.
Bridging the gap between performance-focused advertising and brand-building
Another key insight that emerged was how the rapid adoption of Connected TV (CTV) has created a high-impact medium, turning the living room into a performance channel.
In a session titled The Connected TV Playbook, Karan Khanna, co-founder and COO, Huella, noted how CTV now represents one of the largest canvases for advertisers, balancing both demand and supply, and creating new opportunities for integrated campaigns. “Even brands that have tried CTV for the first time have seen market share movements,” added Bhaskar Ramesh, head – entertainment sales, digital at JioHotstar.
The panel was quick to caution that while CTV offers scalable reach with precision, what Ramesh described as “performance on steroids,” most marketers don’t actually create for CTV.
The hybrid advantage
In his session, The Hybrid Advantage: Building Teams for the AI Era, Saugata Bagchi, global head of digital, content, experiential and martech at Tata Communications, broke down how they built a hybrid team of humans and agents working together and shared a toolkit for other marketers. “Create clear swim lanes of what AI will do and what humans will do and build trust in the process,” he said.
Building trust will not only allow teams to move from linear workflows to modular workflows, he said, but it will also reduce the fear that AI will replace jobs. Since they incorporated HubSpot mid-last year, Bagchi said they haven’t lost a single headcount due to AI.
Meher Patel, founder, Hector, briefly touched upon this fear in a session on how Indian brands are actually using Gen AI and why marketers haven’t kept pace with the speed of AI tools. “Every day, there are so many things being launched with the help of AI – agentic flows, tools talking to each other—that I see fear among mid-level and junior-level people within my circle. But that’s good because it’s translating into a need for education. Mid-level and junior-level people have realised how important it is for them to embrace AI. Where we see friction is adoption at a larger enterprise level,” he shared.
As Adarsh Noronha, country director – India, HubSpot, highlighted in his fireside chat with Bagchi, the winners of this decade will be those who empower their people and industries to be resilient rather than those who simply outspend their competition.
The basic principles stay the same
Marketers across the board agreed that the industry may be experiencing a period of transition as they learn and unlearn, but the core principles of advertising and marketing haven’t changed. As D’Arcy noted in his session, “The only true defence against AI disintermediation is the strength of your customer relationship. When disruption is high, trust is the only currency that doesn't devalue.”
In another session, David Shing, widely known as the ‘Digital Prophet’, demonstrated the power of good storytelling, encouraging advertisers to move from making ‘people want stuff’ to making ‘stuff people want’.
Building on the discussion, Neha Markanda, chief business officer, ShareChat, reiterated how effective advertising does not come from complexity, but from sharp insights and simple human truths.
The underpinning element that emerged at ad:tech New Delhi 2026 was that while AI is now embedded across every aspect of marketing—from campaign execution to consumer engagement—the true differentiator remains human-centred strategy. Technology amplifies marketing, but authentic relationships, trust, and storytelling remain the industry’s enduring foundation.
