National, July 8, 2026: India’s commerce ecosystem is undergoing a paradigm shift, accelerated by evolving consumer preferences, expanding digital participation and the growing adoption of digital tools by businesses. Consumers increasingly discover, evaluate and purchase products through fragmented and immersive journeys defined by personalised experiences, creator-led influence, vernacular interfaces and always-on engagement. Concurrently, millions of enterprises, particularly MSMEs, are embracing digital and AI capabilities to strengthen market access, enhance productivity and integrate more effectively into domestic and global value chains.
Advanced AI workflows and agentic systems are democratizing sophisticated business capabilities, allowing grassroots enterprises to automate operations, optimize supply chains, and unlock a projected 30–35% improvement in profitability. By cutting operational friction and removing resource constraints, these intelligent technologies are expanding horizons to significantly improve both productivity and profitability for Indian MSMEs.
Against this backdrop, Google and India SME Forum today released, ‘The Google Dividend: Measuring Digital Commerce’s Contribution to India’s Economic Future’. Drawing on a primary survey of 3,249 MSMEs and calibrated macroeconomic data, the comprehensive report outlines how digital tools address structural gaps in visibility and resource access.
Key insights from the report on digital adoption and AI:
- Market expansion: 66% of surveyed MSMEs reported expanded market access, while 58% saw improved customer acquisition.
- Revenue acceleration: Nearly 60% achieved double-digit revenue increases, while the strategic adoption of AI is projected to unlock an average 30–35% improvement in overall business profitability.
- Cost & production efficiencies: 78% experienced a notable drop in customer acquisition costs, and early AI integration pilots show the potential to reduce operational costs by 20–30%.
- Return on Ad spend: 54% of respondents achieved strong returns of at least 2x to 3x gains, with top performers hitting up to 5x on ad spend.
Beyond individual enterprise growth, the report also highlights the macroeconomic footprint of this digital shift – MSME digital advertising activity is associated with approximately Rs 49,700 crore in economy-wide output and Rs 32,300 crore in Gross Value Added (GVA), representing the net economic value created after accounting for intermediate consumption. The digital surge is also making a growing contribution to public finances, with estimated GST collections rising by more than two-thirds over the past two years to reach Rs 6,534 crore in 2025.
At the launch of the report, a message from Sushri Shobha Karandlaje, Minister of State for MSME and Labour & Employment, was read out: “The true depth of our economic progress is found in the aspirations of millions of small-scale enterprises, artisans, and entrepreneurs spanning every corner of India. Technology is reshaping grassroots commerce, allowing a business in any district to command visibility and engage consumers directly. This democratization ensures that market exposure is accessible to all, irrespective of geographic location or capital size. Under the leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Ministry of MSME remains committed to improving access to finance and markets, promoting formalisation, strengthening skilling, and encouraging technology adoption through the Udyam ecosystem and a range of schemes and initiatives. As we work toward a future-ready economy under the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047, robust digital tools, particularly AI adoption, can help micro and small enterprises expand their commercial horizons, accelerate formalization, and drive sustainable growth. I congratulate Google India and the India SME Forum on ‘The Google Dividend’ report, which is a valuable, data-rich look at how digital adoption is powering India’s MSME sector.”
Vinod Kumar, President, India SME Forum, said, “The long-term trajectory of India’s digital economy will depend not only on the pace of technological advancement, but also on the extent to which MSMEs are able to absorb and deploy these capabilities productively. For many small businesses, constraints related to information asymmetries, managerial bandwidth and access to specialised capabilities can limit their ability to scale and compete effectively. The findings of this report suggest that digital adoption and the growing accessibility of artificial intelligence can help narrow some of these structural disadvantages.”
Vidhya Srinivasan, VP / GM, Ads & Commerce, Google, said: “India’s digital maturity has unlocked new opportunities for small businesses. Our AI-powered tools have helped millions of small businesses reach new customers on Google and convert real-time consumer interest into growth. Looking ahead, agentic AI will actively work on a business’ behalf to connect them with ready buyers, predict hyper-local demand shifts, and win new customers at the exact moment of intent.”
Agentic AI is expected to play a growing role in shaping customer engagement, informing decisions, and streamlining operations. The emergence of agentic commerce could further expand these possibilities, enabling businesses to automate repetitive tasks, respond more dynamically to changing conditions, and unlock new efficiencies. AI can also power front-end personalization and automated product cataloging, which when paired with digital analytics tools, has been shown to deliver 23% higher conversions, enhancing discoverability and precision customer acquisition. Across functions such as merchandising, sourcing, and supply chains, AI agents help businesses simplify workflows and save time, driving 15-20% productivity uplifts across the enterprise base.
The report reinforces the importance of enabling MSMEs to access and productively deploy digital technologies and AI as India’s digital economy evolves, given their potential to drive productivity improvements and support more inclusive growth outcomes.
Link to the Report : The Google Dividend: Measuring Digital Commerce’s Contribution to India’s Economic Future
Notes to Editors [For Reference Only]
About Google
Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Android, Google Play, Chrome, YouTube, Google Workspace, and Google Cloud, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc.
About India SME Forum
India SME Forum, is India’s leading organisation for MSMEs, with over 102,000 MSMEs as direct paid members (including 10000+ Women Entrepreneurs) and over 12.5+ Lac MSMEs as subscribers across 19 State Chapters,. India SME Forum is a nominated member of the Advisory Committee mandated in the section 7, sub section (2) of the MSMED Act, 2006, (27 of 2006)(https://www.dcmsme.gov.in/Advisory_Committee.aspx) and its professional association affiliation includes the Ministries of MSME, Finance, Corporate Affairs, Niti Aayog, Commerce & Industry of the Govt of India, FIDD of the RBI, UNIDO, UNCTAD, ITC Geneva, WUSME, INSME & WTO’s informal group for SMEs.
