Conversational AI is rapidly becoming a new control layer for advertising and e-commerce, challenging the long-standing dominance of search engines, display ads, and online marketplaces.
Instead of browsing websites, users now ask questions, receive recommendations, and complete purchases directly within AI chat interfaces, compressing discovery, decision-making, and transactions into a single flow.
Recent enterprise advertising experiments by OpenAI signal ambitions to tap revenue streams traditionally controlled by Google and Amazon.
A key disruption is the rise of zero-click commerce, where AI agents compare prices, check availability, and complete checkouts without redirecting users to external websites, reshaping how brands compete for visibility.
Advertising models are also shifting from keyword-based targeting to real-time, context-aware placements embedded within conversations, where intent and relevance outweigh traditional SEO tactics.
This evolution threatens publishers reliant on referral traffic, as AI summaries reduce click-throughs.
In response, Amazon, Google, and OpenAI are accelerating conversational commerce strategies.
In India, platforms like WhatsApp Business and Jio, alongside DPDP-driven privacy norms, are fueling this transformation.
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