Published June 8
Indian publishers are increasingly raising concerns over the concentration of power within the country’s digital advertising ecosystem, particularly as AI-powered discovery systems threaten to further consolidate traffic and monetization around a handful of dominant platforms.
New reports suggest that Indian media firms may approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) over Google’s and Meta’s dominance in digital advertising, arguing that platform concentration is increasingly distorting publisher economics and audience access. The argument mirrors similar ongoing cases in the E.U. and the U.K.
“The concern is justified,” said Tejas Maha, associate director of media at White Rivers Media. “Indian publishers face a dual dependency: Google and Meta remain the dominant sources of digital ad demand and the traffic routes that deliver audiences.”
According to Statcounter, Google controls roughly 97% of the country’s search market as of April 2026, while India is Meta’s largest market globally across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Maha noted that while publishers may retain audience reach, they increasingly lack control over discovery mechanisms, limiting their monetization leverage. “Revenue streams, traffic referrals and ad tech infrastructure are increasingly tied to the same platforms,” he said.
A new landscape for discovery
The anxiety is arriving just as AI-native interfaces begin reshaping how users discover information online. A handful of “walled garden” ecosystems account for nearly 70% to 80% of global programmatic advertising spend, leaving the broader open ecosystem with just 20% to 30%, according to Redseer Strategy Consultants’ May 2026 report.
Redseer also argued that AI “compounds data and scale”; meaning platforms with larger user bases, proprietary signals and closed-loop advertising systems are likely to widen their advantage further.
In India, that concentration is already being reinforced through AI adoption. Meta has described India as its largest market globally for Meta AI usage in its latest quarterly financial report. Google is expanding AI Overviews and Gemini across a market where it already reaches hundreds of millions of users.
“As AI overviews become the default consumption mode, publishers face compounded control loss,” Maha said. “Social and search already concentrated reach, and AI-powered discovery now could consolidate both discovery and monetization in the platform ecosystem.”
India’s advertisers and media buyers are also becoming wary of overdependence on a narrow group of platforms, even if those platforms continue to dominate digital reach and measurement capabilities.
Sini Magon, COO and partner at Grapes Worldwide, said that Indian advertisers are increasingly exploring retail media, creator ecosystems and emerging digital environments in an attempt to build a more diversified media mix.
“The larger question is not only about concentration of power,” Magon said, “but also about ensuring that discovery remains open enough for brands, publishers and consumers to continue finding value across a wider digital ecosystem.”
March 31Michelle Castillo
