As artificial intelligence moves from tools to systems, it is quietly reshaping how brands grow, how value is created, and where economic power will sit in the coming decade. In a wide-ranging conversation with Ei Samay, global brand strategist Dr. Erich Joachimsthaler explains why the future will belong not to the loudest innovators, but to those who can orchestrate complexity at scale, and why India is uniquely positioned to lead this shift.
AI has become one of the most discussed forces shaping the present world. From your perspective, how do you see AI fundamentally altering the way societies, businesses and consumers function today?
Dr. Erich Joachimsthaler:
What makes this moment unique is not that AI suddenly appeared, but that it became accessible. AI has been evolving for decades, but over the last three years, particularly since November 2022, we crossed a threshold. Large language models made AI usable, visible, and relevant to everyday life.
We are now at a stage where AI is no longer experimental. It is operational. It is shaping decisions, behaviour and outcomes in real time. The scale of investment tells the story, globally, AI investments are approaching $1.4 trillion. That level of commitment doesn’t happen around a short-term trend.
What we are witnessing is a structural shift. AI is becoming embedded into how economies function, how businesses compete, and how individuals interact with systems. This is not a moment that will pass; it is a trajectory that will define the next decade.
India, in particular, is witnessing a rapid transition towards AI-led business models. What excites you most about India’s journey at this point?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
India enters the AI era with a set of advantages that many countries simply do not have. First, India has long functioned as the operational backbone of the global economy. AI builds directly on that strength, managing complexity, scale and interdependence.
Second, AI has moved beyond enterprise systems into consumer life. When a technology like ChatGPT reaches hundreds of millions of weekly users faster than any platform in history, it tells you something profound: this technology is intuitive, scalable, and deeply human in its interface.
For India, this creates unprecedented opportunity. AI can amplify existing capabilities rather than forcing reinvention. In my 30 years of working with technology-driven transformation, I have rarely seen a moment where timing, talent and structural readiness align as clearly as they do for India today.
There is optimism around AI, but also concern. From a strategic standpoint, do you see the future of AI as genuinely prosperous?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
Yes, but prosperity will come unevenly, depending on where countries and companies choose to compete.
Foundational AI model development is already dominated by a small number of players. India does not have a competitive advantage there, and neither does Europe. That battle is largely over.
The real opportunity lies in applications, using AI to redesign large, complex systems. AI used to improve individual productivity is useful. AI used to optimise workflows is incremental. But AI used to re-engineer entire ecosystems, finance, healthcare, education, logistics, that is transformational.
India’s strength lies in orchestration: bringing together people, processes, data and technology at scale. That is where AI creates disproportionate advantage, and that is why this moment is pivotal for the country.
Branding has traditionally been about visibility and perception. How does AI change the way brands are built and sustained today?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
AI is fundamentally changing the architecture of the internet, and branding practically lives on the internet.
Historically, branding operated in an attention economy. Brands competed for visibility, awareness, and recall. Attention was the currency.
AI shifts us into an intent economy. Instead of broadcasting messages, brands respond to real needs at real moments. The question is no longer “How visible are you?” but “Are you relevant when a problem arises?”
This shift changes everything, from marketing strategies to business models. I wrote about this transition in 2020, but AI has accelerated it dramatically. Brands that understand intent will win. Brands that rely only on visibility will struggle.
In your earlier work, you emphasised the demand-centric growth model. How does AI reshape this idea today? And why do you argue that relevance matters more than differentiation?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
The traditional growth model was linear. Brands created awareness, guided consumers through consideration, and nudged them towards purchase. The brand controlled the journey.
AI breaks this sequence. It detects intent in real time. It understands where a person is in their decision-making process and responds accordingly.
That’s why relevance comes before differentiation. A brand must first qualify — does it matter in this moment? Is it even considered when a need arises?
I think of this as a pyramid. At the base is relevance across many contexts and moments. Above that is recognition: being identifiable. At the top is differentiation: being chosen. AI rewards brands that are present meaningfully across everyday life episodes, not just at the point of sale.
Much of the AI discussion focuses on efficiency. Can AI truly help create value at a deeper level?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
Efficiency is only the first chapter. Saving time and cost is important, but it is not transformative.
True value creation happens when AI collapses the customer journey. Instead of managing stages, brands solve problems directly. The value lies in outcomes, not processes.
This also reshapes commercial relationships. Agencies, platforms and service providers will increasingly be paid for results, not activities. AI enables this shift by aligning effort with impact. That’s where long-term value is created.
Which Indian sectors do you believe will lead the global AI race by 2030?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
The sectors that will lead are those that depend on orchestration: finance, healthcare, education, energy.
These are complex, system-heavy industries with global relevance. India already plays a critical role in managing them, often invisibly. That invisibility is an advantage. You don’t always need to dominate headlines; you need to integrate seamlessly.
Unlike the internet revolution, which favoured media and e-commerce, AI will transform foundational industries. India’s advantage in these sectors is structural, not temporary.
You’ve said India is particularly well-suited to today’s global economy. What makes this moment different?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
Scale helps, but it’s not the core advantage. AI allows India to integrate extraordinary diversity, languages, cultures, systems, without friction. Translation barriers disappear.
More importantly, India does not need to compete on being the most innovative or the cheapest. Those battles have diminishing returns. India’s real strength lies in owning orchestration, managing global operating systems.
Innovation may be glamorous, but orchestration is where economic power and margins reside.
How does AI create entirely new demand spaces?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
Earlier, demand spaces emerged through individual insight and visionary invention. Today, they are built systematically.
AI identifies unmet needs through behaviour, data and intent. Demand emerges from patterns, not intuition. This marks a shift from entrepreneurial discovery to algorithmic construction of markets.
What mindset should Indian CEOs and CMOs adopt right now to stay ahead of the curve?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
The old mindset equated spending with growth, more money meant more attention and more returns.
That logic no longer works. The new mindset focuses on exponential growth through networks, data and AI. Leaders must move from invent-and-promote thinking to orchestrate-and-scale thinking.
It’s not about creating something first and then buying attention. It’s about using AI to unlock advantages that already exist.
Does AI level the playing field for smaller brands?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
Yes. In the attention economy, size was everything. In the intent economy, intelligent action matters more.
AI allows smaller brands to scale rapidly through data and network effects. Large brands still have advantages, but smaller brands gain proportionally more from this shift.
Finally, as we move into 2026, what kind of progress do you realistically expect in AI adoption?
Dr. Joachimsthaler:
If you had asked this question three years ago, no one could have predicted today’s reality.
Large language models are now good enough. The next phase is application and orchestration. The next two to three years will be decisive.
There will be a reset, hype will settle, but India’s trajectory will not slow. AI is moving from tools to systems, and that aligns perfectly with India’s strengths.
Dr. Erich Joachimsthaler, an advisor to leadership teams, entrepreneur, academic, and author, is considered a leading thinker in modern brand strategy, marketing, innovation, technology, and value-oriented business growth.
