iWorld
GUEST COLUMN: Venturing into AI world – Dealing with the Cookiepocolypse
Mumbai: Technological advancements have been at the helm of our evolution. The last decade witnessed some stellar advancements and shifts in our behavior. Recalling a few; we upgraded from 3G to 4G almost in a blink, smartphones and tabs lead the device usage stats and social media has become the new “news finder.” The most important “world wide web feature,” that has been around for a couple of decades, and now is on the verge of sunset is cookies.
And with this development being pronounced crucial by leading tech firms including Google and Apple, naturally, the most pressing question in every marketer’s mind is, how do we continue to target effectively in a cookieless world? The answer certainly is – Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The rise of the new change
Cyberlaw caretakers are under the constant dilemma of addressing the rising concerns about how digital consumer data is being gathered, stored and utilised. Browser giants like Apple Safari, Firefox, and Google Chrome have either already unplugged their third-party cookie storage approach or are working towards the same.
This means the digital marketing space is transforming rapidly. However, this doesn’t necessarily ring a bell of disaster for the marketers. Pico targeting and communication with relevance between businesses and users can still see the light of the day by maximizing first-party data collection on websites. This consent-based data gathering helps to boost the users’ trust, dependency and retention on the platform.
But the marketing fraternity’s concern remains – how do we precisely target communication to the select user cohorts without cookies? The answer, as mentioned earlier, most definitely is by using artificial intelligence. As the times change, our transformation from digital natives to AI natives is just a few miles away. And the cookieless web world might as well streamline the situation more ardently.
How can AI help deal with a cookieless web?
To begin with, AI systems comprise complex neural networks that are trained with billions of data points. On the back of this data, the AI begins to learn and understand actions, predict results and recommend best-suited actions to achieve the desired marketing goal. The most heartening news for marketers is the fact that AI has immense capabilities to provide deep insights into the constantly evolving customer base and improve the understanding brands and businesses have of their users. And all of this without cookies.
From enabling multichannel communication to relevant advertising, AI has the calibre to effectively cement the gap that will spring up in the cookieless world. Thousands of advanced AI models analyze and learn from billions of first-party data with the help of deep learning algorithms and NLP. This further helps the AI to make accurate predictions and provide recommendations in real-time.
As we move towards more stringent privacy frameworks, AI is already revealing high efficiency in improving ROI and amping up business growth incredibly. Additionally, with AI holding the omnichannel communication fort high, marketers can precisely target user cohorts across multiple channels without worrying about the lack of cookies.
(About Author: Neel Pandya is the Pixis CEO for Europe and APAC)
Gaming
Roblox appoints Sunil Rao as India managing director to drive growth
Former AWS leader to lead creator ecosystem, partnerships and local strategy
MUMBAI: Roblox has appointed Sunil Rao as managing director for India, as the company looks to deepen its footprint in one of its fastest-growing markets.
Rao, who will join in May, will serve as the senior-most representative for Roblox in India, leading local strategy, partnerships and day-to-day operations. His mandate includes strengthening the platform’s presence, supporting the creator ecosystem and aligning India’s market needs with global priorities.
A key focus area will be nurturing India’s growing community of developers and creators, enabling local studios to leverage Roblox’s tools for scaling and monetisation. Globally, the platform’s creator community earned over $1.5 billion in 2025, underlining the economic potential of user-generated content ecosystems.
“Roblox is at the forefront of enabling a new generation of creators and games. India’s scale, creativity, and entrepreneurial energy present a massive opportunity,” said Rao. “I’m excited to build a vibrant and inclusive ecosystem that empowers developers and creators across the country. Ensuring child safety and aligning closely with India’s regulatory framework will be among my top priorities.”
Welcoming the appointment, Roblox vice president international Zhen Fang said India represents a high-potential market for the company. “Sunil brings deep expertise in building operations across diverse markets, and his passion for community-centric platforms makes him the ideal leader to drive our next chapter of growth in the country.”
Rao brings over two decades of experience across technology platforms, venture capital and developer ecosystems. He was previously part of the leadership team at Amazon Web Services, where he led strategy and corporate business development across Asia-Pacific and Japan. He also served as a partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners, working closely with startups and founders.
Earlier in his career, Rao played a key role in building developer ecosystems at Symbian, Nokia and Google, contributing to the growth of major mobile and internet platforms.
With India’s large youth population and rapidly evolving digital landscape, Roblox’s latest leadership move signals a sharper focus on long-term growth, local relevance and creator-led innovation in the market.
