Digital
AI wins hearts, but Indians still want a human hug: Twilio report
MUMBAI — AI might be hot, but it hasn’t made humans obsolete just yet. According to Twilio’s latest State of Customer Engagement Report 2025, a whopping 98 per cent of Indian consumers are more likely to buy when brand interactions are personalised in real time. But here’s the twist: they still want the human touch.
Despite high praise for AI-fuelled personalisation—with 80 per cent of Indians saying brands do a good job—only 30 per cent feel the experience is consistent. That’s a big disconnect in a market where 88 per cent will abandon a purchase if the experience feels cold or robotic.
The report, based on surveys with over 7,600 consumers and 600+ business leaders across 18 countries, points to a clear trend: AI helps, but empathy sells.
“Indian consumers are increasingly aware that while AI-powered personalisation influences buying behaviour, it is not a substitute for relevance, trust and human connection,” said Twilio VP of marketing, Asia Pacific & Japan, Nicholas Kontopoulos. “Indian brands are already leading the way, demonstrating a deep understanding of the importance of AI and excelling at delivering personalised experiences. As they continue to scale their use of AI, the next step is to move beyond basic personalisation to true individualisation, where every interaction feels timely, contextual, and humanised. This means putting transparency at the centre, respecting customer preferences, and using data to serve, not just sell. The brands that will lead in India’s next wave of growth are those that get this balance right by blending intelligent automation with authentic engagement to earn loyalty and drive long-term impact.”
Indian brands are sprinting ahead in AI adoption, using it to personalise recommendations, smoothen shopping journeys, and boost trust. Nearly 8 in 10 Indian consumers now spend more with brands that offer personalised engagement.
But the future isn’t AI-only. 91 per cent of Indian consumers say AI interactions should still feel human, 55 per cent want the option to talk to a person when things go south, and 72 per cent want to know when they’re talking to a bot.
The report’s takeaway? Personalisation isn’t enough. The smart brands of tomorrow will blend AI with authenticity, serve with data, and earn their place in customers’ lives—not just their inboxes.
Digital
Content India 2026 opens with a copro pitch, a spice evangelist and a £10,000 prize for Indian storytelling
Dish TV and C21Media’s three-day summit puts seven ambitious projects before an international jury, and two walk away with serious development money
MUMBAI: India’s content industry gathered in Mumbai this March for Content India 2026, a three-day summit organised by Dish TV in partnership with C21Media, and it wasted no time making a statement. The event opened with a Copro Pitch that put seven scripted and unscripted television concepts before an international panel of judges, and by the end of it, two projects had walked away with £10,000 each in marketing prize money from C21Media to support development and international promotion.
The jury, comprising Frank Spotnitz, Fiona Campbell, Rashmi Bajpai, Bal Samra and Rachel Glaister, evaluated a shortlist that ranged from a dark Mumbai comedy-drama about mental health (Dirty Minds, created by Sundar Aaron) to a Delhi coming-of-age mystery (Djinn Patrol, by Neha Sharma and Kilian Irwin), a techno-thriller about a teenage gaming prodigy (Kanpur X Satori, by Suchita Bhatia), an investigative crime drama blending mythology and modern thriller (The Age of Kali, by Shivani Bhatija), a documentary on India’s spice heritage (The Masala Quest, hosted by Sarina Kamini), a documentary on competitive gaming (Respawn: India’s Esports Revolution, by George Mangala Thomas and Sangram Mawari), and a reality-horror competition merging gaming and immersive fear (Scary Goose, by Samar Iqbal).
The session was hosted by Mayank Shekhar.
The two winners were Djinn Patrol, backed by Miura Kite, formerly of Participant Media and known for Chinatown and Keep Sweet: Pray & Obey, with Jaya Entertainment, producers of Real Kashmir Football Club, also attached; and The Masala Quest, created and hosted by Sarina Kamini, an Indian-Australian cook, author and self-described “spice evangelist.”
The summit also unveiled the Content India Trends Report, whose findings made for bracing reading. Daoud Jackson, senior analyst at OMDIA, set the tone: “By 2030, online video in India will nearly double the revenue of traditional TV, becoming the main driver of growth.” He noted that in 2025, India produced a quarter of all YouTube videos globally, overtaking the United States, while Indians collectively spend 117 years daily on YouTube and 72 years on Instagram. Traditional subscription TV is declining as free TV and connected TV gain ground, forcing broadcasters to innovate. “AI-generated content is just 2 per cent of engagement,” Jackson added, “highlighting the dominance of high-quality human content. The key for Indian media companies is scaling while monetising effectively from day one.”
Hannah Walsh, principal analyst at Ampere Analysis, added hard numbers to the picture. India produced over 24,000 titles in January 2026 alone, with 19,000 available internationally. The country now accounts for 12 per cent of Asia-Pacific content spend, up from 8 per cent in 2021, outpacing both Japan and China. Key exporters include JioStar, Zee Entertainment, Sony India, Amazon and Netflix, delivering over 7,500 Indian-produced titles abroad each year. The top importing markets are Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, the United States and the Philippines. Scripted content dominates globally at 88 per cent, with crime dramas and children’s and family titles performing particularly strongly.
Manoj Dobhal, chief executive and executive director of Dish TV India, framed the summit’s ambition squarely. “Stories don’t need translation. They need a platform, discovery, and reach, local or global,” he said. “India produces more movies than any country, our streaming platforms compete globally, and our tech and creators win international awards. Yet fragmentation slows growth. Producers, platforms, and tech move in different lanes. We need shared spaces, collaboration, and an ecosystem where ideas, technology, and people meet. That is why we built Content India.”
The data, the pitches and the prize money all pointed to the same conclusion: India is not waiting for the world to discover its stories. It is building the infrastructure to sell them.
