At the India AI Impact Summit 2026 in New Delhi, Naveen Tewari, Founder and CEO of InMobi, outlined a bold vision for the next phase of commerce powered by artificial intelligence — which he calls “agentic commerce.” Tewari said that as AI systems become capable of performing full end-to-end buying tasks autonomously, they could transform how people shop, businesses operate and markets function in India. This shift, he argued, represents a structural overhaul rather than just an incremental upgrade to current digital retail.
Agentic commerce refers to AI agents that can search for products, evaluate options, verify safety, and complete transactions on behalf of consumers without manual input. In practical terms, this could mean AI systems that browse for deals, compare prices and even buy goods securely without users opening apps or entering details themselves — a model demonstrated recently with India’s first authenticated agentic transaction at the summit. Such systems promise greater convenience, personalised experiences and efficiency gains in consumer interactions.
Tewari said these developments could have far-reaching economic implications: he estimated agentic commerce might contribute nearly $3 trillion to India’s economy by 2047, driven by increased productivity, broader participation in digital markets, and new AI-enabled business models. He positioned India’s large digital population and rapid AI adoption as strategic advantages that could help the country build global platforms from India — unlike the internet era when major platforms were established abroad before Indian firms scaled.
Beyond economic impact, Tewari emphasised the importance of transparency and trust in these systems. With AI making decisions on behalf of users, he argued that underlying reasoning engines must be visible — so consumers understand why products are recommended or purchased. This focus on accountability highlights both the promise and the challenges of embedding AI deeply into everyday commerce and underscores why agentic models are gaining attention at major global AI forums.
