For creators in India, creative generative artificial intelligence is moving from the periphery of creative experimentation to the center of daily work, according to new data released by Adobe. The company’s first Creators Toolkit report is based on a global survey of more than 16,000 creators across eight countries, and positions India as one of the clearest examples of how AI tools are rapidly being absorbed into the creator economy.
This research focuses on new expectations for creative generative AI and agent AI, which are systems that can perform multi-step actions to actively assist users. In India, the findings suggest that adoption has reached a tipping point. 99% of creators surveyed said they are currently actively using creative generation AI, demonstrating that this technology is no longer optional or experimental, but is now integrated into their entire workflow.
For most Indian creators, the influence is not abstract. 95% said creative generation AI accelerated the growth of their business or follower base, and 85% said AI enabled them to create content they couldn’t create otherwise. Almost unanimously, 97% of respondents said the technology had a positive impact on the creator economy. The numbers demonstrate a shift in the way creators achieve scale and productivity, especially in markets where they often work as individual producers or small teams.
Generative AI is no longer used for a single task, but is now integrated across multiple stages of production. Editing, upscaling, and enhancement emerged as the most common applications, used by 77% of Indian creators, closely followed by generating new assets such as images and videos by 75%. Ideation and brainstorming are also widespread, with 58% using AI during the ideation stage, suggesting that technology is influencing creative direction as well as execution.
This wide range of uses is not tied to loyalty to a single platform. 89% of Indian creators said they have used multiple creative generation AI tools in the past three months and switched systems to improve output quality, experiment with different features, and tailor tools to specific tasks. The data reflects a pragmatic, tool-agnostic mindset where creators assemble their own stacks rather than committing to one ecosystem.
At the same time, adoption is shaped not only by enthusiasm but also by concern. Trust and transparency remain central issues. 78% of Indian creators say they are worried that their content will be used to train AI models without their permission, highlighting deep-seated concerns about consent and ownership. Creators actively seek out new tools—74 percent through personal research, 68 percent through social media trends, and 54 percent through recommendations from other creators—but not all tools are adopted. 38% cited high cost, 30% uncertainty about how to train the model, and 28% cited unreliable output quality as barriers.
Looking ahead, creators are already anticipating the next phase of AI adoption. There is strong interest in agent AI that can proactively assist users rather than simply respond to prompts. 90% of Indian creators said they were optimistic or excited about the possibilities, and 96% said they would consider using AI to learn their creative style. The appeal is primarily functional: 66 percent want AI to automate repetitive tasks, 63 percent see value in AI-assisted brainstorming, and 57 percent want tools that reveal insights into content performance.
But there are clear limits to that enthusiasm. The main expectation is for human-involved experiences, where AI accelerates workflows without interfering with creative decisions. Speed and scale are welcome, but control is non-negotiable.
In addition to these changes in software, this report highlights structural changes in how and where creative work is produced. Mobile devices have become central to creators’ workflows. 81% of Indian creators say they currently create content frequently on mobile, and 89% expect to create even more mobile-first content in the next year. From planning to filming, editing, and publishing, your smartphone has essentially become a complete production studio.
Taken together, these numbers show that convergence is reshaping India’s creator economy, with generative AI embedded throughout workflows, upcoming agent systems, and mobile devices serving as the primary production site. While the technology is widely recognized as an enabler of growth and creativity, the data also highlights unresolved tensions around trust, transparency, and ownership. As AI moves further upstream in the creative process, this problem could become more pressing.
