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Kantar report shows what Indians are searching for in 2026
Google search data reveals a nation juggling aspiration and anxiety, from AI-powered religion to micro-retirements
MUMBAI: India is changing fast, and its search bar is giving the game away. Kantar, the marketing data and analytics company, has released the 2026 edition of its India in Search report, mining Google search data to map how 1.4 billion people are thinking, spending, ageing and believing right now.
The report, built on hundreds of validated search topics and anchored to Kantar’s own trend framework, identifies seven cultural trajectories and 11 sectoral trends. The picture it paints is of a country pulling in several directions at once, seeking convenience yet craving slowness, chasing digital tools yet retreating into the physical world.
The headline numbers are striking. AI searches have exploded to 235 million average monthly searches, up 154 per cent year on year. Beauty searches, at 131 million monthly and growing at 3 per cent, reflect a move toward science-backed efficacy over aspiration alone. Food culture searches hit 94 million, up 7 per cent, blending convenience with experimentation. Quick delivery queries reached 29 million, up 61 per cent. Climate adaptation searches climbed 22 per cent to 14 million. Digital safety queries rose 9 per cent to 17 million.
Faith, one of India’s most enduring forces, is getting a technological makeover. Searches for Mahabharat AI surged 400 per cent, while Gita GPT rose 83 per cent. More telling still, searches for female pandits for weddings jumped 100 per cent and Navratri gift searches shot up 267 per cent. Religion is no longer purely institutional. It is being personalised, digitised and consumed on demand.
Indian parents, meanwhile, are building digital fortresses around their children. Searches for safe search filters rose 241 per cent, Android parental controls jumped 124 per cent, and Google’s Family Link gained 22 per cent. Gen Alpha is growing up in a world where curiosity is mediated through guardrails.
Ageing is being reinvented too. Searches for strength training for the elderly surged 324 per cent, perimenopause queries climbed 22 per cent, and searches for senior-friendly smartphones, specifically the iPhone senior, rocketed 1,043 per cent. Indians in their 40s and beyond are not managing decline. They are training for independence.
In a culture saturated by algorithmic speed, a counter-movement is building. Lego searches reached 165,000 a month, up 22 per cent. Searches for homemade dog treats jumped an extraordinary 122,000 per cent. The report labels this “slow joy,” a deliberate turn toward effort-based pleasure and tactile creativity.
The physical world is also making a comeback after years of digital saturation. Searches for escape rooms near the user rose 49 per cent, live music queries climbed 124 per cent, and coffee rave party searches surged 540 per cent. Indians, it appears, want to show up rather than scroll.
On identity, the report tracks a generation stepping outside traditional frameworks. Searches for Karl Marx rose 123 per cent and the term neurodivergent gained 50 per cent. Searches for borderline personality disorder jumped 421 per cent, reflecting a deeper public engagement with psychological self-understanding.
The workplace, too, is being renegotiated on workers’ terms. Job hugging, the practice of clinging to a stable role out of anxiety, surged 2,300 per cent in searches. Micro-retirements gained 800 per cent. Occupational burnout queries rose 86 per cent. Searches for AI and machine learning courses climbed 49 per cent, suggesting that even as workers seek respite, they are not standing still.
Soumya Mohanty, managing director and chief client and solutions officer for South Asia at Kantar, said search behaviour remains one of the most honest signals of national mood. “This year’s findings reflect a nation negotiating multiple tensions; speed and slowness, protection and experimentation, aspiration and anxiety,” she said. “For brands, the opportunity lies in understanding these cultural undercurrents and responding with empathy, intelligence, and cultural precision. The 2026 edition of India in Search is a strategic compass for anyone seeking to decode consumer truth.”
The report covers January to December 2025. The data, drawn from Google search topics and queries and mapped against Kantar’s proprietary trend framework, offers brands across every category a live feed of what India actually wants, not what it says it wants in a survey. In a country this complex and this fast-moving, that may be the only market research that matters.
MAM
Good Monk taps Arshdeep Singh for preventive health campaign
Campaign promotes Healthy 50+ nutrition with focus on elderly care and daily habits.
MUMBAI: If fitness had a scoreboard, this one would be playing the long game. Bengaluru-based preventive healthcare brand Good Monk has roped in Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh for its latest campaign, placing the spotlight firmly on a segment often overlooked in India’s wellness boom, the 50+ age group. The initiative positions preventive nutrition not as a future fix, but as a daily discipline, much like the sport its ambassador represents.
At the heart of the campaign is Good Monk Healthy 50+, a product designed to address evolving nutritional needs of adults over 50. Built on the brand’s patented Invisi-Nutri Blend Technology, the formulation blends essential vitamins, minerals and amino acids into everyday meals without altering taste, a quiet intervention aimed at supporting energy levels, bone health and immunity.
The campaign film leans into a relatable emotional insight: the growing concern among younger Indians about their ageing parents’ health. Instead of dramatic health scares, it takes a slice-of-life approach, nudging audiences to rethink everyday nutrition and adopt small, consistent habits that compound over time.
Arshdeep Singh’s association aligns neatly with this narrative. Known for discipline and steady performance on the field, he mirrors the campaign’s central message—long-term results are built on everyday consistency. His personal emphasis on family adds another layer, making the messaging less about products and more about responsibility.
The move comes as India’s healthcare conversation shifts from treatment to prevention. While much of the market has focused on fitness and lifestyle products for younger consumers, Good Monk is carving a niche by addressing the nutritional gaps of older adults, a segment with rising health awareness but limited targeted solutions.
Founded under Superfoods Valley, the brand has been building a portfolio of science-backed, sprinkle-on nutrition products aimed at integrating seamlessly into daily meals. Its growing presence across urban and semi-urban markets reflects a demand for convenience-led health solutions that do not disrupt food habits.
With distribution across its direct platform and e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon and Flipkart, Good Monk is now doubling down on awareness as much as accessibility. The Arshdeep-led campaign signals a broader push not just to sell a product, but to reframe preventive healthcare as a shared family priority.
Because in this innings, the real win is not just longevity, it’s how well you play it.
