Flipkart’s AI Vision: Sandhya Kapoor on Building an Intelligent, Trustworthy, and Inclusive E-Commerce Ecosystem

As AI transforms industries worldwide, e-commerce platforms like Flipkart are harnessing intelligent technologies to redefine online shopping in India. We spoke with Sandhya Kapoor, Senior Vice President & Head of the Central Platform Organisation at Flipkart, to explore how AI is shaping user engagement, logistics, ethical practices, and the future roadmap of India’s leading homegrown e-commerce giant.

AI-Powered Personalisation and Enhanced User Experience

AI Integration in Customer Experience: Flipkart has implemented AI-driven features such as personalized recommendations and multimodal search capabilities. How do you see these technologies evolving to further enhance user engagement and satisfaction?

In e-commerce, AI has moved beyond just product recommendations, it now understands user intent, context, and preferences to offer truly personalised journeys. But what’s equally important is how it does this responsibly. Modern AI systems are designed to personalise without compromising user identity — using techniques like anonymised data, on-device learning, and federated models to safeguard privacy.

At the same time, AI is powering everything from smart search to proactive support and AI agents that help users complete tasks — like auto-filling repeat purchases or resolving delivery issues before they escalate. The result is a shopping experience that feels intuitive, secure, and deeply satisfying — where users feel seen, but not surveilled.

At Flipkart, we believe technology should enhance everyday life—making experiences easier, intuitive, and even joyful. Today’s digital-savvy users expect personalisation, and that’s where AI truly shines. We’re moving from generic suggestions to deeply tailored experiences—based on preferences, behaviour, and even unspoken intent. Our AI adapts in real time, creating a dynamic feedback loop that keeps improving with every interaction.

Features like Flipkart’s Advanced Skin Analyser and Virtual Try-On in beauty bring this to life. These tools remove the guesswork, build trust, and are designed for India – from diverse skin tones to regional fashion cues. Take the Skin Analyser—a science-backed tool that boosts confidence in beauty buys. Similarly, virtual try-ons make recreating celebrity looks easier, more inclusive, and fun.

These tools also democratise online shopping. For new or rural users, they act as digital guides. And on the discovery front, our multimodal search is transforming how people find products. Shoppers don’t always think in text—they want to describe or show what they saw. Flipkart’s Immerse platform combines visuals and text to mirror how people actually think and shop.

These technologies will only grow smarter. With hyper-personalisation projected to top $74B globally, early AI adopters will lead in engagement, loyalty, and growth. At Flipkart, AI isn’t just powering smarter shopping—it’s creating experiences that feel human, inclusive, and emotionally connected.

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Tackling Logistics and Supply Chain Complexity with AI

Considering India’s vast and diverse market, what have been the primary challenges in scaling AI solutions, particularly in logistics and supply chain management, and how has Flipkart addressed them?

India’s scale and diversity make logistics and supply chain both a massive opportunity and a complex challenge. Fragmented infrastructure, non-standard addresses, varying tech access, and rising delivery expectations—especially across rural and urban areas—demand AI solutions that are precise, adaptive, and fast. At Flipkart, we’ve taken an India-first approach. AI-powered geocoding and address intelligence bring accuracy to last-mile delivery in hard-to-map regions. Predictive analytics help forecast demand hyper-locally, enabling smarter inventory planning, reducing stockouts, and optimizing warehouse and shipping strategies.

AI also powers real-time route optimisation—factoring in traffic, weather, and terrain to boost delivery speed, reliability, and reduce emissions. On the automation front, advanced systems like robotic arms, cross-belt sorters, and ASRS cut turnaround times and reduce manual effort. Behind the scenes, a real-time AI layer monitors and adjusts operations on the go—flagging delays, rerouting shipments, and scaling infrastructure as needed. For Flipkart, these aren’t just fixes—they’re foundational steps toward a future-ready, intelligent supply chain.

Ethical AI and Data Privacy at Flipkart

With AI playing a significant role in decision-making, how does Flipkart ensure that its AI models remain unbiased and adhere to ethical standards, especially when handling sensitive user data?

At Flipkart, we see AI as a tool to empower, not to discriminate — so we take fairness, transparency, and data ethics very seriously. First, we ensure that our models are trained on diverse and representative datasets, and we regularly audit them for bias — especially in high-impact areas like recommendations, credit decisions, or customer support.

We also follow strong governance practices — every AI use case goes through ethical reviews, and we work closely with legal, privacy, and security teams to ensure compliance. When it comes to user data, privacy is non-negotiable. We anonymize sensitive information, apply data minimisation principles, and ensure that personalisation doesn’t come at the cost of user trust.

Ultimately, responsible AI isn’t just about what models can do — it’s about what they should do. And that’s a principle we embed into every step of our AI journey.

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Differentiating Flipkart’s AI Strategy in India’s E-Commerce Landscape

Given the rapid advancements in AI within the e-commerce industry, how does Flipkart differentiate its AI strategies from competitors, and what unique value propositions does it offer to customers?

As a homegrown e-commerce platform, Flipkart’s deep understanding of Indian consumers drives an AI strategy tailored to the country’s unique complexity—blending local relevance with global-scale innovation.

AI runs across the entire Flipkart experience—from smarter discovery and personalisation to faster fulfillment and seller growth. We go beyond basic recommendations by factoring in regional trends, behavioral patterns, and language preferences to make shopping more intuitive and inclusive. For sellers, it means smarter targeting, better conversions, and simplified decision-making—enhancing product visibility and customer value. On the operations side, AI powers efficient inventory planning, real-time logistics, and resource optimisation, ensuring faster deliveries and platform agility across India’s diverse markets.

What truly sets us apart is our ecosystem approach. Through Flipkart Ventures, we’ve backed 15+ start-ups in areas like generative AI, logistics automation, and health tech—bringing cutting-edge innovation into the hands of Indian consumers faster, while fuelling the tech ecosystem.

Flipkart’s AI Roadmap for the Next 2-3 Years

Looking ahead, what are Flipkart’s key AI-driven initiatives for the next 2-3 years, and how do you envision these developments shaping the future of e-commerce in India?

We believe the next wave of e-commerce innovation will be defined by how intelligently platforms can respond to diverse needs of customers, execute sellers’ ambitions through a data-driven approach, and ecosystem challenges—at scale, and in real time. Over the next few years, Flipkart’s focus is on building an e-commerce ecosystem that’s faster, safer, and more intuitive—powered by intelligent, purpose-driven innovation.

One of the priorities is strengthening platform trust through AI-led fraud detection and content integrity. We’re advancing real-time models to identify scam listings, fake reviews, and policy violations—ensuring that trust and transparency scale with growth.

We’re also deepening hyper-local demand prediction, enabling smarter inventory distribution and improved availability in line with city- and region-specific buying behaviour. This will significantly enhance delivery speed and product relevance across diverse markets. In our supply chain, AI-powered warehouse robotics and smart automation will continue to streamline operations—from picking and sorting to dispatch—driving both speed and consistency.

We’re evolving these capabilities not in isolation but as part of a connected, future-ready ecosystem that supports customers, empowers sellers, and fosters responsible innovation. Our vision is to lead e-commerce forward—where intelligence is embedded, trust is engineered, and growth is inclusive by design.

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