Core Announcement
At the 20th edition of the Marketing Conclave (MarCon) held in Mumbai, Siddharth Shekhar, Director – Government & PSUs, BFSI, Fintech, Education & Auto at Google, announced that Google Search has evolved from a simple text box into an "intelligent, multimodal, conversational partner". He described the transition from a world of keyword queries to an "agentic era" where users interact with rich, conversational intent and where the marketing opportunity shifts from mere search visibility to providing precise answers that enable AI agents to act on a consumer’s behalf, always with explicit permission. Shekhar cited the development of open standards such as the Universal Commerce Protocol as the foundation for "agentic commerce" that will help brands build deeper customer relationships.
Industry Perspectives on AI
During a session titled “The Producer’s Paybook: TV, OTT and What Comes Next”, filmmaker and Rose Audio Visuals founder Goldie Behl emphasized that AI should be viewed as a creative tool that enhances, rather than replaces, human storytelling. He called for regulations governing how AI learns from existing content and protects intellectual property rights. Behl also noted that the next wave of OTT opportunities will stem from brand‑backed storytelling, urging creators to authentically convey a brand’s ethos.
Conference Highlights and Participation
The two‑day conference recorded a footfall of more than 2,000 participants and showcased an expo with participation from over 30 leading marketing and technology companies. Notable speakers included Prashant Gutch (Head, Search & Shopping, Ads Marketing, Google), Poorva Bhatikar (Industry Head – Mobility, Google), Archit Goyal (Search & Performance Specialist, Google), Aviral Chandra (President Marketing, Shriram General Insurance), Pankaj Sharma (CEO & Director, MGID), Arpit Mankar (SVP – Head – Non‑Bollywood, Shemaroo Entertainment), Somnath Mukherjee (Head of Programmatic and Performance Marketing, Reliance Retail), and Vinay Bhartia (Director – MEA & West Asia, Semrush).
Organiser Profile – IAMAI
The event was organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI), a not‑for‑profit industry body with more than 800 members comprising Indian and multinational corporations as well as start‑ups. IAMAI’s stated objective is to advance India’s digital economy through public‑policy advocacy, B2B conferences, research, start‑up promotion, and consumer trust and safety initiatives.
Partners and Sponsors
Marketing Conclave 2026 listed partners such as Affinity Global Advertising, Consumr.ai, Connect Network, DoubleTick, Google, Helo.ai, mFilterIt, PubLive, Vonage, BC Web Wise, LS Digital, Truecaller, Semrush (An Adobe Company), ORIGIN8, Exotel, Shemaroo and many others.
Significance
The statements underscore a strategic shift for marketers toward AI‑driven, agentic interactions and highlight the growing importance of open commerce standards, while also flagging the need for regulatory frameworks around AI‑generated content.