The traditional search bar is losing its place as the primary gateway to online shopping. According to an ETRetail report covering a fireside chat at the 6th edition of the ETRetail E-Commerce and Digital Natives Summit 2026, Meesho's leadership is witnessing a fundamental shift: more than 75% of orders on the platform are now driven through AI-powered personalised recommendation feeds rather than conventional search. Goyal, speaking during the session moderated by Charu Lamba, Associate Editor, ETRetail, said that AI is enabling platforms to process millions of intent and behavioural signals to recommend the most relevant products.
Intent-First Commerce and the Death of Search-Led Discovery
Goyal described the evolution as moving from a product-push model to an intent-first ecosystem. "Consumers may just put in a prompt or a voice note, and companies that can act fully on these signals will provide highly personalised AI-assisted discovery feeds," he said. This shift places new importance on structured product data — including pricing, reviews, ingredients and specifications — which becomes critical in enabling AI-driven recommendations.
The Role of Voice and Vernacular
Voice and vernacular interactions will play a pivotal role in bringing the next wave of digital consumers online, Goyal noted. Brands and marketplaces capable of understanding natural language across Indian languages and seamlessly guiding customers through discovery and payments will hold a competitive advantage.
AI's Impact on the Commerce Profit & Loss
Beyond customer-facing applications, Goyal said AI has the potential to improve profitability across the entire commerce value chain. The specific areas of impact include:
| Area | Effect |
|---|---|
| Product discovery | Enhanced relevance, higher conversion |
| Customer acquisition costs | Reduced through better targeting |
| Retention | Improved via personalised experiences |
| Fraud and returns | Lowered through predictive signals |
| Inventory planning & demand forecasting | Optimised, reducing waste |
"AI will play a very meaningful role across the P&L of commerce and brands," he said.
Building the AI-Native Enterprise
To capitalise on these trends, Goyal outlined three capabilities businesses must build. First, redesign products and platforms with AI at the core rather than treating it as an add-on. Second, collect richer contextual consumer data beyond transactions. Third, invest in AI talent and organisational agility. Looking ahead, he predicted that AI-powered digital assistants will increasingly manage routine shopping tasks, offering personalised recommendations and automating everyday purchases.
Concluding the discussion, Goyal framed AI as a strategic differentiator rather than a standalone technology. "It's either we change towards AI, or AI changes us," he said, adding that businesses integrating AI meaningfully across the consumer journey while maintaining customer trust will be best positioned for long-term success.
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