The fifth edition of Data Unplugged India, MMA Global India’s flagship CX and marketing event, unfolded at The Leela Palace, Bengaluru, spotlighting what it truly takes to embed customer obsession into the DNA of modern businesses. This wasn’t just another industry meet-up—it was a masterclass in how artificial intelligence, empathy, and real-time data can come together to shape unforgettable customer experiences at scale.
Bringing together 38 distinguished voices from the worlds of AI, marketing, and customer experience—including leaders from Hindustan Unilever, Google, Flipkart, Britannia, Zivame, Axis Bank, and Haleon—the event featured 12 compelling sessions. The theme, Advancing CX with AI, offered both vision and direction, positioning customer experience not as an afterthought, but as a central growth engine.
Moneka Khurana, Country Head and Board Member at MMA Global India, kicked off the day by presenting the concept of the AI-CX flywheel—a self-reinforcing cycle where data from interactions creates more meaningful and timely experiences, generating compounding impact. Her central message? It’s time to stop treating CX as an end result and start building it as a core organisational capability.
Rohit Dadwal, CEO, MMA Global APAC and Global Head of SMARTIES Worldwide, hailed India’s unmatched agility and technical prowess. “India is not just adopting AI—it’s accelerating it,” he said. “What stood out this year was the shift in tone: no longer about vanity metrics or jargon, but about real, tangible business outcomes.”
From strategy to execution, the event offered a front-row seat to how forward-thinking brands are using AI to reimagine CX. Arun Neelakantan of Hindustan Unilever shared how the company is integrating AI across the entire customer journey—from in-store to post-purchase—anchored by data harmony and channel fluidity.
In a groundbreaking reveal, Siddharth Gupta (Britannia), Amar Jain (Mission Accessibility) and Niraj Ruparel (WPP & GroupM India) showcased an AI-enabled retail experience specifically designed for visually impaired users—a powerful reminder that true CX innovation must be inclusive.
Viswanathan V (Elevation Capital) and Goodies Narayanan (ex-Coursera) provided clear-eyed frameworks to move beyond the AI hype, urging brands to prioritise infrastructure and agility over buzzwords.
With categories like lingerie, where customer comfort and trust are paramount, personalisation can be a tightrope walk. Zivame’s Lavanya Pachisia and MMA’s Dadwal explored how AI can enhance relevance without crossing privacy boundaries—a balancing act every brand must master.
Rohit Bhasin and Yogesh Garg of Kotak Mahindra Bank demonstrated how smashing internal silos can unleash the full power of CX-led marketing, reducing friction while boosting ROI.
The concept of agentification—AI interfaces mimicking human-like service to streamline customer journeys—took centre stage in a panel led by Flipkart, Axis Bank, Shopalyst and more. Meanwhile, conversations around CRM unification (in partnership with Paytm Ads) illustrated how breaking down data silos enables a single view of the customer, paving the way for personalisation at scale.
In another session, leaders from Tata Consumer, Third Wave Coffee and Haleon shared how predictive analytics and AI-driven insights are fuelling real-time, context-rich experiences across platforms—without compromising consent or consumer trust.
Exotel’s Gaurav Agrawal delivered a rousing call to action: AI isn’t a value-add anymore—it’s essential. Whether it’s to stem, churn or extend customer lifetime value, real-time AI isn’t just useful; it’s business-critical.
Moneka Khurana summed it up best: “AI in CX is no longer a competitive advantage. It’s the new baseline. But strategy alone won’t cut it—organisations must commit to cultural alignment and tech orchestration to truly deliver.”
