Latest news with #ArundhatiBhattacharya
Mint
12 hours ago
- Business
- Mint
Mapping the AI revolution: What this means for India's businesses and workforce
The future of your business is here and it is powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some view AI as a disruption, while others see it as the starting point of endless possibilities. Whatever side you are at, one thing is for certain – AI is fundamentally changing everything from how we work and shop to how we bank and create. The latest episode of Mint presents All About AI, powered by Salesforce, brought together senior leaders from diverse industries to understand how businesses are navigating this shift, and their insights reveal a roadmap for success in this new era. Think of AI as a powerful wave. You can stand on the sidelines and watch it pass, or you can jump in and ride it. For Arundhati Bhattacharya, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Salesforce South Asia, the choice is simple. She warns that resisting this wave will only overwhelm you. Instead, she urges everyone to 'get your toes wet', because this is not a technology that is going away. She believes that for any company to be sustainable, productive and efficient, it needs to get into the game. 'Just as you can't swim if you stand on the side of a swimming pool and learn by theory how to swim. You also can't really understand what Agentforce can do for you unless you are in the water and flailing around. But as you flail, you'll learn to float, you will learn to swim, and then you learn to do a lot of things,' said Bhattacharya. This sentiment is seconded by Arun Kumar Parameswaran, EVP and Managing Director - Sales and Distribution (South Asia) at Salesforce. 'I think the big change is that progressive organisations have figured out that you can't wait for the perfect use case. Technology is evolving at such a rapid pace that even your best use cases that are showing you the best results could be obsolete in 12-18 months,' he said. According to him, progressive organisations are embracing a 'fail fast, learn fast' mindset so that they don't get left behind. He cited the example of Bajaj Finance, who call themselves a 'Fin AI company' and have stated that AI is going to be in every aspect of our business. The key to this mindset, he explains, is setting clear guardrails and a foundational architecture for trust, data handling, and security. Once those are in place, every function should be empowered to innovate at its own pace. Bhattacharya also provided an insightful perspective on the role of AI, particularly 'Agentic AI'. She shared a personal anecdote, wishing for a personal avatar to handle her travels, which she dislikes. 'But, I don't think we are there yet. It's still humans with agents. We have automated agents now that can really take off the drudgery from your job and leave you to be more creative, to be more in touch with your customers. Basically, agents allow humans to be more human,' she said. This partnership between human and tech is also at the core of Shweta Gupta's strategy. As Vice President, Information Technology at Genpact, she sees AI adoption as a matter of 'taking human and the tech together'. 'It's not about replacing the human, but tech enabling the human side by side to see what they can automate,' she said. Genpact is not only adopting AI for its clients but also internally, with its Chief Technology Officer driving a client zero program - a kind of testing ground for the company's own AI solutions. They have deployed more than 100 AI solutions across finance, sales, and marketing to drive key outputs and improve efficiency. Gupta shared four main principles that are leading the change for her company and its clients. These include using using AI to enable people and not replace them, being ready learn from both successes and failures while innovating, using AI responsibly and integrating ethical considerations into every stage of development, from design to deployment and, finally, ensuring every AI solution has a clear purpose and a measurable Return on Investment (ROI). AI is already being deployed for a central part of operations across several industries. Saiprasad Potaraju, Head - Enterprise Applications at Hero FinCorp, spoke about how AI is integrated into every step of their credit lending process. During customer onboarding, AI ensures the right data is captured and deciphers, validates, and verifies documents. For the underwriting process, they use a lot of AI and ML models to make faster decisions based on data from multiple sources. After a customer is onboarded, AI is used in collections to understand the right mechanism to use for defaulting customers and recover the money. Looking ahead, he felt the role of Agentic AI is only going to deepen. 'We are a regulated entity, where AI and agents, can play a role in understanding or interpreting the regulations that come up from RBI and the other sectors, and then see how we respond to each of these by putting right controls in the system, rather than being reactive, being proactive, using Agentforce,' he said. In the luxury retail sector, AI is enhancing a human-centric experience. Rajendran S, Chief Marketing Officer of Orra Fine Jewellery, said Orra's unique selling proposition is to sell diamonds as a 'piece of art' rather than a commodity. Towards this, the company curates a 'valet to valet' journey for every customer walking into their 100+ stores. 'A customer who's sitting right in front of a sales person needs to know what he's buying, and needs to know the inspiration of the designs of what we are making,' he said. Here, AI acts as a coach for Orra's sales teams, who are dealing with large SKUs where each design has a unique story to tell. 'Each of this design has got a story. How does the sales guy know what it is?' he said. He also detailed how AI is integral to their marketing strategy. Orra uses performance marketing to drive footfalls to stores and generate leads. This entire performance marketing effort is now being replicated on Salesforce with an AI layer. The AI helps create lookalikes and target audiences with 'far more precision, far more focused'. Without this AI layer, performance marketing is already contributing 4 per cent to their top line. Additionally, AI is used in their Service Cloud to take all customer feedback, queries, and Google reviews seriously. It helps to templatise responses and ensures they are addressed within a certain timeframe. When it comes to engaging customers, AI is breaking down old barriers. Towards this, AI has solved the challenge of connecting with customers at scale. The barrier to creating a more human-like digital experience has always been the scale of people and or content. Stephen Hammond, EVP/ GM, Marketing Cloud at Salesforce, explained that AI has opened up the ability for a natural language experience where a person can express their interests, and the agent or AI system can interpret that and provide a more relevant response. This is all made possible by data and a deep understanding of the individual and the brand. Hammond's advice for businesses is clear: 'Acknowledging that things are changing is very important. So that comes in terms of speed and getting ahead of things. The way that brands connect with individuals will now start to really go through agents. And so I think it's really important that companies understand that that is the coming future, and it's really important for them to get that information now, because they need to start making sure that they're ahead of the game.' To stay ahead, he feels a company needs to have a clear organisation of its data. 'Without having a clear understanding of who your customer is and what their interests are, you can't really engage them properly,' he added. He also said that the data must be 'actionable', and linked back to the systems of action. Disclaimer: This is a Mint editorial initiative, sponsored by Salesforce.
The Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- The Wire
CSC Collaborates with Salesforce to Revolutionise Grievance Redressal Across Rural India
AI-powered platform to unify and accelerate grievance redressal across CSC's 6 lakh Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) nationwide New Delhi, Delhi, India (NewsVoir) Common Services Centres (CSC), a flagship initiative for India's digital inclusion under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), today announced a collaboration with Salesforce, the #1 AI CRM*. The collaboration aims to enhance citizen and Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) support across rural and semi-urban regions through a unified, AI-powered grievance redressal platform that delivers intelligent and scalable service experiences. With over 6 lakhs active VLEs, CSC plays a foundational role in connecting citizens with essential public and private services in remote areas. The adoption of Salesforce marks a significant milestone in CSC's digital transformation journey, aimed at improving resolution timelines, empowering VLEs with modern tools, and fostering greater transparency and trust in citizen services. Built on Salesforce's platform, the solution integrates Service Cloud with AI tools such as Einstein Bots for 24×7 self-service and Digital Engagement to consolidate citizen queries from WhatsApp, email, SMS, and the CSC portal. Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, MD & CEO, CSC SPV said, 'At CSC, our mission has always been to empower citizens and VLEs by bridging the last-mile digital gap. The collaboration with Salesforce is a step forward in building a more responsive, unified, and data-driven grievance redressal framework. By integrating modern tools and AI-led workflows, we are equipping our frontline network with the capability to resolve issues faster, track them transparently, and deliver better experiences to the communities we serve. This is not just a tech upgrade — it's a shift in how we enable trust in digital governance.' Arundhati Bhattacharya, President & CEO, Salesforce – South Asia, said, 'India's next leap in digital public infrastructure will be defined by how effectively we can bring citizen services closer to every corner of the country — with speed, scale, and intelligence. Our collaboration with CSC is a powerful example of how AI can be harnessed to transform governance at the grassroots. We are proud to support CSC in empowering lakhs of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) with the tools to deliver faster, more transparent, and citizen-first services.' CSC's collaboration with Salesforce lays the foundation for broader digital public infrastructure. With CSC expanding into areas like wallet services, DigiPay, insurance, and telemedicine, the Salesforce platform provides a future-ready backbone to unify service delivery across functions. Its extensibility, multilingual support, and mobile-first design make it ideal for scaling digital governance across India's diverse citizen base. About CSC Common Services Centres (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of India's Digital India programme, delivering a wide array of public and private services to citizens across rural and remote locations via a nationwide VLE network. *Salesforce, the #1 CRM, powered by AI technology and capabilities. Learn more • Learn about Agentforce • Read more customer success stories (Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Newsvoir and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.).
Fashion Value Chain
6 days ago
- Business
- Fashion Value Chain
CSC Collaborates with Salesforce to Revolutionise Grievance Redressal Across Rural India
Common Services Centres (CSC), a flagship initiative for India's digital inclusion under the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), today announced a collaboration with Salesforce, the #1 AI CRM*. The collaboration aims to enhance citizen and Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE) support across rural and semi-urban regions through a unified, AI-powered grievance redressal platform that delivers intelligent and scalable service experiences. With over 6 lakhs active VLEs, CSC plays a foundational role in connecting citizens with essential public and private services in remote areas. The adoption of Salesforce marks a significant milestone in CSC's digital transformation journey, aimed at improving resolution timelines, empowering VLEs with modern tools, and fostering greater transparency and trust in citizen services. Built on Salesforce's platform, the solution integrates Service Cloud with AI tools such as Einstein Bots for 247 self-service and Digital Engagement to consolidate citizen queries from WhatsApp, email, SMS, and the CSC portal. Sanjay Kumar Rakesh, MD & CEO, CSC SPV said, 'At CSC, our mission has always been to empower citizens and VLEs by bridging the last-mile digital gap. The collaboration with Salesforce is a step forward in building a more responsive, unified, and data-driven grievance redressal framework. By integrating modern tools and AI-led workflows, we are equipping our frontline network with the capability to resolve issues faster, track them transparently, and deliver better experiences to the communities we serve. This is not just a tech upgrade – it's a shift in how we enable trust in digital governance.' Arundhati Bhattacharya, President & CEO, Salesforce – South Asia, said, 'India's next leap in digital public infrastructure will be defined by how effectively we can bring citizen services closer to every corner of the country – with speed, scale, and intelligence. Our collaboration with CSC is a powerful example of how AI can be harnessed to transform governance at the grassroots. We are proud to support CSC in empowering lakhs of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) with the tools to deliver faster, more transparent, and citizen-first services.' CSC's collaboration with Salesforce lays the foundation for broader digital public infrastructure. With CSC expanding into areas like wallet services, DigiPay, insurance, and telemedicine, the Salesforce platform provides a future-ready backbone to unify service delivery across functions. Its extensibility, multilingual support, and mobile-first design make it ideal for scaling digital governance across India's diverse citizen base. About CSC Common Services Centres (CSCs) are a strategic cornerstone of India's Digital India programme, delivering a wide array of public and private services to citizens across rural and remote locations via a nationwide VLE network. *Salesforce, the #1 CRM, powered by AI technology and capabilities. Learn more Learn about Agentforce Read more customer success stories
Time of India
23-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
AI Co-Pilots and Trust Stacks: The Next Chapter in Martech
Dear Reader, AI is here, but it is not here to replace you. It is here to make you sharper. That is what Salesforce India 's Arundhati Bhattacharya reminds us this week. AI can free marketers from the drudgery of repetitive work, giving them back the time to craft strategy and create experiences that truly move people. But as we dive into her perspective, it is clear: AI's edge only matters when paired with human insight. Let's dive in. AI isn't the boss, you are. Arundhati Bhattacharya, president and CEO, Salesforce India, shares why AI is only as valuable as the humans guiding it. Beyond automating grunt work, the technology's real promise is letting marketers focus on the things machines cannot replicate: creativity, empathy, and trust-building. Read the full conversation Why you should care: The marketers who thrive will be the ones who treat AI as a co-pilot, not a crutch. AdTech origins you probably didn't know. Did you realise the dawn of online ads and the birth of third-party cookies happened in the same year? This explainer traces how those early milestones formed the bedrock of today's digital ad economy and why understanding these roots matters for where adtech is headed next. Explore the glossary Why you should care: Because knowing the 'why' behind the tools in your stack helps you future-proof your strategy. CMOs are building trust stacks now. Funnels are out; trust is the new KPI. This piece argues that tomorrow's top CMOs will not just optimise tech stacks but build trust stacks, connecting data, messaging, and brand behaviour to earn belief at scale. See what a trust stack looks like Why you should care: Because trust stacks will operate parallel to the martech ecosystem, ensuring that credibility is built and maintained at every touchpoint. Stories you might have missed Catching the AI slipstream How GenAI's powering a second app boom The 'legitimate' excuse of assumed consent Perplexity's Pitch: What if your AI cloud could show its work? AI tools not for decision making: Kerala HC guidelines to district judiciary on AI usage Over to you How are you using tech to earn trust, not just traffic? Are you giving AI a seat at your table or the head of it? Tell us on LinkedIn and tag @ETBrandEquity. We will feature the smartest takes in our next edition. Stay tuned for the next edition of MarTech+ newsletter, rolling out every Wednesday. From, Team ETBrandEquity
Time of India
23-07-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Humanising AI with Arundhati Bhattacharya, Salesforce
India's digital transformation is at a crossroads, propelled by widespread adoption yet challenged by legacy business infrastructures. Navigating this complex landscape, Salesforce India's president and CEO, Arundhati Bhattacharya , sees both immense potential and critical hurdles, particularly in the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced marketing technologies ( Martech ). 'Trust', Bhattacharya emphasised in a candid conversation with ET BrandEquity, 'is fragile'. In the age of AI, where scepticism about data privacy and ethics is heightened, fostering trust requires more than technological innovation. It demands credibility and genuine human connection. This principle underpins Salesforce's strategic choice of Rahul Dravid for its recent AI-centric campaign. Dravid, known for his humility and steadfastness, symbolises the company's commitment to responsible and human-centric 'agentic AI'. Bridging the Digital Divide India, as Bhattacharya pointed out, presents a paradox in digital readiness. On one hand, individual consumers exhibit extraordinary enthusiasm towards digital adoption. A Salesforce survey highlights that India boasts the highest proportion of digitally active individuals over the age of 80 globally, a testament to the country's robust digital public infrastructure, including Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, and ONDC. These initiatives have significantly accelerated digital inclusion, bringing underserved communities online. Conversely, traditional Indian businesses, particularly legacy enterprises, face distinct challenges. Bhattacharya observed that while digital-native startups benefit from agility and cloud-based architectures, legacy organisations must grapple with the complexities of modernising outdated infrastructure without disrupting ongoing operations. Drawing a vivid analogy, she remarked, 'Legacy companies must transform while running the business, much like changing tyres on a moving car.' Yet, these legacy entities also hold invaluable assets, deep institutional knowledge, vast customer bases, and established trust. Bhattacharya believes targeted AI applications addressing specific pain points, such as customer service enhancement or internal decision-making, offer significant opportunities. The banking sector illustrates this well: retail banking is markedly more digitalised compared to corporate banking, where personal relationships and face-to-face interactions still predominate. Martech: From Instinct to Precision In parallel with AI, India's Martech landscape is evolving, fundamentally reshaping marketing practices. Bhattacharya contrasts today's precision-driven, data-informed marketing with earlier instinct-based approaches that dominated her tenure in public-sector institutions. 'Marketing has transformed from a shot in the dark into a scientific discipline,' she noted. Today, companies leverage Martech tools for precise customer segmentation, behavioural targeting, and real-time performance measurement. Salesforce's recent campaign illustrates this shift vividly. A simple print advertisement featuring a QR code seamlessly transitioned audiences into an immersive, mixed-reality experience with Rahul Dravid. Personalisation and Privacy: Striking the Balance While Martech has elevated personalisation to new heights, Bhattacharya stresses the fine line between relevance and intrusion. Genuine personalisation extends beyond superficial customisation, it encompasses context, timing, channel choice, and consumer intent. 'True personalisation knows when and how to engage customers,' she remarked, emphasising that transparency and ethical data usage are paramount to maintaining trust. Her insights align with Salesforce's own research, which consistently underscores consumer expectations for ethical data handling and responsible AI usage. The emphasis is clear: businesses must ensure technology enhances the customer experience without encroaching upon personal boundaries. Humanising AI and Addressing Workforce Concerns Addressing prevalent fears about AI's impact on employment, Bhattacharya maintains a nuanced perspective. 'AI is a tool, not a substitute for human experience,' she clarified. While acknowledging AI's capability in executing routine tasks efficiently, she highlights its limitations in replicating genuine human creativity and nuanced emotional intelligence. For Bhattacharya, AI's true value lies in liberating professionals from repetitive tasks, enabling them to focus on strategic thinking, problem-solving, and innovation. Her own experience at Salesforce illustrates this: AI-driven anomaly detection in mundane tasks such as expense reporting allows her more bandwidth to concentrate on strategic decision-making. Yet, she acknowledges the necessity for continual upskilling. 'If your job is entirely repetitive and you aren't adapting, then there is certainly risk,' she cautioned. Bhattacharya encourages professionals to proactively embrace AI: 'We're at the start of a massive wave. You can either be overwhelmed or learn to ride it smartly.' India stands poised at an exciting juncture. Its digitally enthusiastic population and rapidly evolving Martech ecosystem offer a fertile ground for innovation. Yet, the road ahead requires cautious navigation around ethical pitfalls and digital divides. Bhattacharya's vision for Salesforce, and India at large - is clear: leveraging AI and Martech not merely for technological advancement but to fundamentally enhance human experiences. Ultimately, Bhattacharya advocates an approach grounded in humility, responsibility, and ethical clarity. Her vision encapsulates a balanced ethos for India's digital future-bold yet responsible, innovative yet human-centric. In her words, 'AI's greatest promise lies not in replacing human potential, but in amplifying it.'
