How AI is making tech shopping smarter in India

Indian consumers are using AI to make better decisions—transforming how they shop
On tennis courts, I often watch players obsess over their smart wearables, analyzing every swing angle, footwork pattern and shot trajectory. Some get sharper. Others get lost in the data and metrics when they should be practicing their serves. The difference? One group uses technology to amplify its judgment, while the other lets it replace their judgment entirely. This conflict between human instinct and machine intelligence is not just playing out on tennis-courts, but it is defining a new era of consumer technology.

Over the last few years, Artificial Intelligence has evolved from being a buzzword over to dominating technology conversations. The recent CES 2026 shows how far we have come. AI is now integral across categories, from televisions and laptops to home appliances, with every iteration, unlocking capabilities that genuinely enhance everyday experiences.

In India, this evolution has taken an interesting shape. Indian buyers have always been thoughtful and thorough in their research when making purchase decisions. AI is now becoming their research partner - helping them cut through complexities, surface relevant choices and validate their decisions with confidence. Consider how consumers navigate electronics purchases today. A family in Pune researching televisions no longer drowns in technical specifications or sits through the tiresome sales pitches. Instead, they answer simple questions on an app, like - How big is their room? What do you primarily watch? How bright is the space? AI processes these inputs instantly—filtering thousands of options down to models that match their needs. What would have taken days, if not weeks, now happens in minutes and with much greater accuracy. Or take the working professional based out of Jaipur, upgrading her laptop. She describes her use cases —video editing, client presentations, frequent travel etc. The AI doesn't just match specifications, but also understands the context. It recommends laptops that are optimized for creative workloads with excellent battery life, reasonable weight and highlights trade-offs transparently. Visual search is another breakthrough. Spot a television setup at a friend's home? Photograph it. AI identifies the model, finds similar options, compares prices and shows what others typically purchase alongside it.

What's changing?

A more confident buyer is emerging. Premium technology adoption is accelerating beyond metros—in cities like Coimbatore, Vizag and Indore. What is enabling this isn't just aspiration. It's access to reliable delivery, installation support, flexible payments and critically, to AI-powered research tools that speak to customers in their own language—making complex purchases manageable.

Customers are now comparing specifications rather than blindly drifting to brand names. The willingness to invest in quality has been there for some years now. Today, it is paired with caution. Dumping specs and features just for the sake of it doesn’t work anymore. By reducing uncertainty, AI is helping India's naturally diligent shoppers invest more confidently in premium technology.

Perhaps the most powerful shift is how AI now interprets customer feedback. Instead of shoppers having to scroll through hundreds of reviews, they can now view a clear, consolidated insight gathered from thousands of real user experiences. Consider something as familiar as a pair of headphones. Across several reviews, customers might most often praise sound quality, build quality and noise cancellation, with battery life and comfort following closely, while criticizing Bluetooth connectivity and a lack of seamlessness when it comes to multi-device use. Or the views on value for money proposition vary, reflecting different expectations at different price points. Presented this way, reviews don’t feel like noise. They become guidance—helping customers understand strengths, limitations and real-world performance before making a decision.

What this means for the brands?

For brands, the tennis analogy holds. They face the same choice: what to focus on and whether AI sharpens their judgment or becomes a distraction.

This creates opportunity for brands to understand their customers better. When AI helps customers articulate their actual needs—'Which TV works best for cricket in bright rooms?’—it connects the right products to the right buyers faster. Brands that design for real use cases benefit immediately. A television optimized for Indian living rooms with excellent daytime viewing gets discovered by families who need exactly that. The match happens faster, with higher satisfaction. Customer feedback is also now more actionable. Instead of scanning through multiple reviews, the product teams can see clear patterns: which features resonate, where products excel, what buyers in different cities prioritize. This can create better product development cycles. The brands that win, will be the ones who are able to understand their customers better and build products that solve real problems—because AI helps those products find their audience efficiently.

Looking ahead

AI won't just help customers find products—it will anticipate needs with better precision, clarify trade-offs and validate choices through real experiences. What took seasoned shoppers years to develop—the ability to cut through claims, compare meaningfully and spot value—is now available to anyone with a smartphone.

Indian consumers aren't asking whether to trust AI – they have already embraced it. As AI reshapes how we discover, compare and decide, the information advantage that once belonged to a select few is disappearing. The future isn't AI making choices for us; it's AI empowering thoughtful humans to choose better for themselves. For a market that has always valued informed decisions, better shopping will be about using smarter tools with intent.

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• li8By Zeba Khan – Director - Consumer Electronics, Amazon India