Amazon Ads outlines AI, streaming TV and creator partnerships as key ad trends for 2026

Amazon Ads has outlined a set of trends it believes will influence how advertising evolves in 2026, pointing to wider use of artificial intelligence, deeper use of customer insights and changes in streaming television advertising.

The advertising strategies are expected to rely more heavily on customer data and audience insights to guide creative decisions across the full marketing funnel, from awareness to conversion. Retail media, it said, is playing a larger role across the consumer journey, moving beyond search-driven shopping to a broader approach that uses first-party shopping and streaming signals.

Commenting on the findings, Girish Prabhu, Head and Vice President, Amazon Ads India, said, “The future of advertising is not just about reaching more people. It is about reaching the right people with messages that truly resonate. By combining AI capabilities with deep customer insights basis trillions of shopping, browsing and streaming signals, Amazon Ads helps brands move from simply sharing campaign messaging to engaging in meaningful conversations and reach audiences wherever they spend time, across the Amazon store plus thousands of apps and websites.”

The agentic AI tools are expected to reduce the time and resources needed to produce advertising creative, making advanced creative capabilities more accessible to smaller businesses. It said such tools could allow advertisers to develop and adapt campaigns more quickly, while scaling efforts across platforms.

AI will increasingly be used behind the scenes to analyse campaign data, identify audiences and optimise performance. These tools could make advanced analytics easier to use by allowing marketers to conduct complex analysis more quickly, including through natural language interfaces.

Streaming TV advertising is also expected to shift toward performance-based measurement, Amazon Ads said. Citing the Ormax OTT Audience Report 2025, the trend report noted that India’s total video streaming audience has crossed 600 million users, with connected TV viewership reaching 129.2 million active users in 2025. Advertisers are projected to increase spending on streaming ads in 2026 and place greater emphasis on outcomes such as sales, sign-ups and bookings, rather than relying only on reach and frequency.

Amazon Ads also pointed to greater use of contextual advertising and creator-led content. Creators are expected to play a more central role in brand storytelling, while contextual ads on streaming platforms could be tailored more closely to on-screen content and viewer context.

As these developments come together, technology is expected to play a larger role in shaping how brands connect with consumers, with a focus on combining automation with storytelling and audience relevance.