Legacy brands in India are using AI and AR to connect with Gen Z in fun and creative ways. They make cool AR movies, smart chatbots, and personalized digital experiences that catch young people’s attention fast. From saree brands quoting your grandma to AI stylists picking outfits from your music, these old brands are becoming fresh and exciting. They are also hiring for new tech jobs and using smart tools to make things faster and cheaper. By blending tradition with technology, these brands are winning the hearts of the next generation.
How are legacy brands in India using AI and AR to engage Gen Z in 2025?
Legacy brands in India are leveraging AI and AR to captivate Gen Z by creating immersive AR storytelling, hyper-personalized AI campaigns, and interactive digital experiences. These innovations drive higher engagement, faster production, and increased social commerce, helping traditional brands stay relevant and win Gen Z loyalty.
How 120-Year-Old Brands Are Winning Gen Z Hearts With AI & AR in 2025
- Britannia turns Independence Day into a 3-minute AR movie, MTV’s AI stylist designs outfits from your Spotify playlist, and a saree brand’s chatbot quotes your grandmother – all in one week.*
This is not sci-fi; it’s the new playbook for India’s century-old brands as they chase 472 million Gen Z consumers who spend ₹2.4 trillion online every year [1].
The 3-Second Rule: Why Legacy Brands Had to Reinvent
- 70 % of Gen Z impressions are never actually seen; attention must be grabbed in the first 2–3 seconds [1]
- ₹5.8 billion – size of the global AR ad market by end-2025, up 340 % from 2023 [1]
- 50 % of Gen Z in India bought something via Instagram or WhatsApp in 2024, forcing heritage labels onto social commerce [4]
AR Storytelling: From Archives to 8K Portals
| Campaign | Brand | Tech Used | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freedom AR Film | Britannia | WebAR + 8K portraits | +47 % ad recall in under-25 group [1] |
| Rivaah Mirror | Tanishq | In-store AR mirror | 3× conversion of “just-looking” walk-ins [2] |
| Paper Boat Cloud | Paper Boat | Snapchat AR lens | 1.4 million UGC posts using brand filter [3] |
AI Personalization at Gigascale
- Mondelez* * Valentine’s campaign generated 500,000 unique AI videos** in 72 hours; impossible with traditional production [5]
- Production cost drop: 85 % faster, 70 % quicker turnaround [5]
- Amazon India tests AI-generated audio summaries for product pages, read in the customer’s preferred regional accent [additional research]
New Job Titles Born in 2025
Heritage brands are hiring for roles that did not exist last year:
| Role | Core Skill | Example Employer |
|---|---|---|
| Prompt Engineer | Gen AI scripting | Mondelez India |
| AR Narrative Designer | 3D storyboarding | Britannia |
| Digital Heritage Curator | Archival + UX | Tata Archives |
| Algorithmic Stylist | Music-to-fashion AI | MTV India x Myntra |
What CMOs Actually Say
“We use AI to multiply the stories , not replace the storyteller . If a 1902 recipe can appear on a 2025 phone in under 2 seconds, the brand lives another century.”
– Partho Banerjee, Maruti Suzuki [1]
Future Watch List
| Trend | Expected Impact |
|---|---|
| *Voice-commerce * | 40 % of Gen Z searches will be voice-first in India by 2026 [additional research] |
| AR persistent layers | Physical stores will overlay digital discounts visible only through phones [3] |
| AI ethics officers | Mandatory hires to audit bias in generated campaigns [additional research] |
The data shows that Indian legacy brands are not just surviving; they are setting global benchmarks for heritage-tech fusion. If the metric is emotional ROI, the scoreboard already favours the grandfathers who learned new tricks.
- Sources:*
[1] CMSWire: How Century-old Indian Brands Are Winning
[2] Storyboard18: AI takes the creative wheel
[3] BrandXR: Top 10 Social AR Campaigns 2025
[4] India Retailing: Gen Z Shopping Habits
FAQ: How legacy Indian brands are winning Gen Z with AI and AR in 2025
How are century-old Indian brands using AI and AR to stay relevant for Gen Z in 2025?
By blending heritage with cutting-edge tech. Brands like Britannia now launch AR Independence Day campaigns where living freedom-fighters tell their stories through interactive phone filters, turning history into a personal, sensory experience. At the same time, AI is helping them deliver hyper-personalised content: Mondelez India used generative AI to create 500,000 unique Valentine’s videos for individual consumers, cutting production costs by 85 % and campaign turnaround by 70 %. The result is deeper emotional loyalty and a brand that feels both timeless and totally 2025.
What measurable results are these immersive campaigns delivering?
Engagement and memory metrics are off the charts. AR advertising spend is projected to hit $5.8 billion globally in 2025, and Indian campaigns are outperforming benchmarks: social AR activations now deliver 70 % higher memory recall, 4× longer engagement times than mobile video, and 3× higher brand lift at 59 % lower cost. When Uber and Coldplay ran their 2025 social AR stunt, play-time and viral reach set new commercial benchmarks, showing that immersive tech is no longer experimental – it is profit-generating.
Which new roles and skills are emerging for Indian marketers?
Traditional job descriptions are being rewritten. Automation now handles data crunching and basic copy, so AI Content Strategists, Algorithmic Targeting Specialists, and Generative AI Prompt Engineers are the fastest-growing titles on LinkedIn India. Marketers must master prompt engineering, AR content creation, and real-time analytics to orchestrate campaigns that flow seamlessly across WhatsApp, Instagram Reels, and smart glasses. The new mandate: strategic creativity empowered by tech, not replaced by it.
How are brands closing the authenticity gap Gen Z demands?
By using AI to surface real stories, not fake polish. Instead of glossy celebrity ads, Tanishq’s “Rivaah” collection used AI to crowd-source real wedding moments from micro-influencers, then amplified them with AR try-ons of heritage jewellery. 93 % of Indian Gen Z trust advice from YouTube creators more than traditional ads, so brands are pairing AI curation with micro-community voices to keep the message genuine yet scalable.
What future challenges should these brands prepare for?
Ad fatigue and attention scarcity are the next battlegrounds. Gen Z can “tune out” in under three seconds; 70 % of technically viewable impressions are never actually seen. Legacy brands must pivot from broad reach to experience-led, two-second hooks and hyper-personalised loyalty loops. Expect 2026 budgets to shift further toward AI-curated nano-content and persistent AR layers anchored to real-world locations, ensuring the heritage story stays in constant, valuable view.
