When Shilpa got her first business loan from Kotak Mahindra Bank in 2024, she thought her relationship with the bank would quiet down, limited to just equated monthly instalments (EMIs). Instead, it got chatty.

Five years ago, every bank had turned her away. She had no Cibil score, no formal collateral, and no guarantee that she would return the money. But this time, Kotak had approved the loan in days. Its “artificial intelligence” tool sifted through her payment history, store location, and transaction patterns, and decided she was worth a few lakhs. Soon, Shilpa opened her tailoring shop in East Bengaluru.

Ever since, her phone hasn’t stopped buzzing.

Every few days, a notification pops up: “Secure your future! Get loan-linked insurance at a low premium!” or “Turn your business into a brand!” Sometimes, there are informative videos about “SIPs for new entrepreneurs”, and some other times, there are nudges to get her invested in a mutual fund.

“Earlier, the only bank ads I saw were about home and car loans—things I never needed,” said the 34-year-old. “The insurance one seems useful. It’s related to what I am doing.”

What changed wasn’t Shilpa. It was her bank, and what it did with her data. The details that once judged whether she deserved credit now also decide what else she should buy.

Across India’s financial sector, that pivot is deliberate.

Banks such as HDFC and Kotak, and microfinance players like Chaitanya India Fin Credit are redeploying their AI engines—built on years of transaction and behavioural data—to run hyper-personalised campaigns.

For instance, a “habitual AI” experiment at HDFC Bank that prodded dormant users to transact again led to a 20% jump in conversions. “We just had to show them what was possible,” said a senior executive. At Kotak, a new “marketing OS” now stitches together data across savings, lending, and investments to spot “future cardholders”. And at Chaitanya, micro-segmentation campaigns helped identify which small-town retailers were ready for another loan.

For banks, the economics are tempting. As one ad-tech founder put it, “Credit-risk AI saves time; marketing AI makes money.” Even consulting firm McKinsey estimatesQuantum BlackThe state of AI: How organizations are rewiring to capture value that companies using AI in marketing see returns 20–30% higher than those relying on traditional methods.