Artificial intelligence will power the next leg of growth through cost efficiency and vernacular adoption, Sachin Salgaonkar of Bank of America Global said.
This shift is critical for the expansion of India's digital economy. By lowering operational costs and breaking language barriers, AI allows companies to reach users who were previously excluded from the digital marketplace.
Speaking at the Bank of America India Conference, Salgaonkar said AI will expand the digital user base by making services more accessible through vernacular languages [1]. This technological integration is expected to drive a new phase of growth throughout 2026 [2].
Beyond the impact of AI, Salgaonkar addressed the current state of the quick-commerce sector. He said the industry has seen high levels of competitive intensity recently. However, he said this environment is expected to normalize within six to nine months [1].
This stabilization is expected to occur as companies return to capital discipline [1]. The move toward fiscal restraint suggests a pivot from aggressive market-share acquisition to sustainable profitability within the delivery sector.
Salgaonkar said the combination of AI-driven efficiency and a more stable competitive landscape for quick-commerce will define the market's trajectory. The integration of AI is not merely a technical upgrade but a strategic tool to broaden the reach of digital services across diverse linguistic regions [1].
“AI will drive the next leg of growth via cost efficiency and vernacular adoption.”
The transition toward 'capital discipline' in quick-commerce suggests that the era of unsustainable subsidies to win customers is ending. Simultaneously, the focus on vernacular AI indicates that the next wave of internet growth in India will come from non-English speaking populations, moving the digital economy beyond urban hubs into deeper rural and semi-urban markets.
