At the 2026 Meta Marketing Summit E-Commerce edition, held across Bengaluru and Mumbai, a clear trend that emerged was that the future of shopping isn’t typed into a search bar — it’s found in a scroll, sparked by a creator, closed on a messaging surface and, beneath it all, powered by AI. From discovery through to conversion, AI improves relevance, automation and measurable performance. Given this scenario, Meta said it has launched new tools for marketers — for instance, marketers can now upload an image or video as their featured creative, and Meta’s AI will automatically include products from a brand catalogue as a carousel.

Other trends that emerged included the videofication of Indian shopping (reels aiding discovery) and closing the conversion loop from chat to checkout through WhatsApp, which facilitates two-way conversations that support everything from personalised recommendations to post-purchase service.

Published on May 18, 2026