AI Takes Centre Stage in Buyer-Seller Ecosystem
IndiaMART is significantly expanding its use of artificial intelligence as it seeks to strengthen trust across its marketplace and improve customer interactions. The company is now using AI-powered pattern matching to identify proxy and potentially fraudulent seller accounts while simultaneously deploying real-time voice-to-text tools that accelerate the processing of buyer inquiries—tasks that were traditionally handled by call-centre employees.
The move signals a broader shift in strategy, with AI no longer viewed merely as a productivity tool but as a critical component of platform integrity, operational efficiency and long-term growth.
The Challenge of Scale in a B2B Marketplace
IndiaMART is one of India's largest business-to-business digital marketplaces, connecting buyers and sellers across a wide range of sectors, including industrial machinery, electronics, pharmaceuticals, construction materials and consumer goods.
Unlike traditional e-commerce platforms, IndiaMART generally does not process payments or hold inventory. Its role is to facilitate connections between businesses. While this model enables massive scale, it also exposes the platform to risks such as counterfeit listings, fake suppliers, misleading advertisements and low-quality sales leads.
These concerns have occasionally attracted regulatory and reputational scrutiny. The platform's inclusion in the 2022 Notorious Markets list released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative highlighted concerns about counterfeit products and the need for stronger marketplace monitoring mechanisms.
Why IndiaMART’s AI Push Matters
The company’s latest AI initiatives are designed to tackle two fundamental challenges: fraud prevention and user experience.
On the trust side, machine-learning algorithms are being deployed to identify suspicious behaviour across seller accounts. By analyzing patterns, relationships and activity across profiles, the system can flag proxy accounts and potentially fraudulent listings before they become widespread problems.
This marks a transition from reactive moderation to proactive risk detection, a critical step for any large digital marketplace seeking to maintain credibility among users.
On the customer-service side, AI-powered voice-to-text technology is helping streamline communication between buyers and sellers. The tools convert spoken requests into structured digital information in real time, reducing delays and improving lead accuracy.
AI Spending and Automation Accelerate
IndiaMART has indicated that it plans to significantly increase investment in AI technologies, with reports suggesting the company intends to double AI-related spending every six months.
Its AI platform, IM VANI, has already become a key part of marketplace operations. The system reportedly handles more than 100,000 buyer-seller interactions daily, helping improve lead conversion rates and reducing customer acquisition costs.
These developments suggest that AI is being embedded directly into the company’s operational framework rather than being treated as an experimental initiative.
Can AI Solve the Counterfeit Challenge?
The effectiveness of IndiaMART’s strategy will ultimately be measured by outcomes. Counterfeit products and fake suppliers remain major concerns for buyers, particularly in sectors involving pharmaceuticals, electronics and industrial equipment.
While the company argues that AI-driven filtering has strengthened content moderation and fraud detection, critics note that sophisticated bad actors often adapt quickly to new enforcement mechanisms.
Trust Infrastructure May Define Future Growth
IndiaMART’s aggressive AI expansion reflects a broader reality facing digital marketplaces: growth is increasingly dependent on trust. By combining fraud detection, automated communication tools and machine-learning-driven monitoring, the company aims to improve user confidence while reducing operational costs. If these initiatives succeed, IndiaMART could strengthen its competitive position and set new standards for AI-driven marketplace governance. However, sustained success will depend on whether the technology can stay ahead of evolving fraud tactics and deliver a consistently safer, more reliable experience for businesses operating on the platform.
(With agency inputs)
