Amazon Ads Adds Interactive and Pause Ads to Prime Video India

Amazon Ads has given Indian brands a direct path from the living-room screen to the shopping cart. On 7 October 2026, the company launched two interactive ad formats on Prime Video in India: Interactive Video Ads and Pause Ads.

What changed

Both formats let a viewer respond to an ad using the remote, without leaving the stream. Interactive Video Ads allow the viewer to interact while content is still playing. Pause Ads surface as an overlay at the moment the viewer pauses, arguably the most attentive moment in streaming.

The calls to action available include:

• Add to Cart
• Find out more
• Want more info?
• Get a quote
• Book an appointment
• Sign up today

The option a brand shows depends on the advertising objective and whether the customer journey happens on Amazon.in or another destination.

The psychology of the pause

Streaming ads usually compete with a plot, a second screen or a kitchen run. A pause is different. The viewer has interrupted the show by choice, the screen is still, and the remote is already in hand. Amazon Ads India director Gulshan Verma described the formats as “a new way to turn moments of attention into meaningful action.”

For a marketer, this changes the value of a streaming placement. Most connected-TV ads are upper-funnel: awareness, frequency, brand lift. With these formats, Amazon says advertisers also get campaign-level data such as open clicks and add-to-cart rates, alongside reach and brand uplift. You can see whether attention becomes intent, not just whether it was delivered.

Why timing is the real message

Amazon is making the formats available to advertisers in India at no additional cost for a limited period, ahead of the festive season. That lowers the risk of testing exactly when shopping intent is peaking.

The launch also follows the integration of Amazon MX Player into Prime Video. Advertisers now have access to content across both services, including Prime Video originals, Amazon MX Player original series, reality shows, micro-dramas and dubbed international content. The same formats can travel across a much larger, more varied ad surface.

What marketers should do now

Treat this as a behavioural test, not just a new placement. The remote turns an impression into a possible action, but only if the CTA matches the moment and the audience. Start with a simple CTA split: if the objective is e-commerce, test Add to Cart against Find out more. If it is lead generation, test Get a quote against Sign up today. Watch open clicks and add-to-cart rates, not only reach. Even small differences in the first remote press will tell you which phrase closes the gap between noticing and acting.

The bigger lesson is that attention in streaming is not evenly distributed. The pause button is one of the few moments when a viewer is fully available. Amazon has just turned that moment into screen real estate. The brands that design for it now will learn, at low cost, how Indian audiences want to buy from their living rooms.

Source: Afaqs!