Meesho expands AI playbook with launch of conversational shopping assistant

Meesho has introduced ‘Vaani – Your Meesho Dost’, a generative AI-powered conversational voice shopping assistant, as it looks to make its platform more accessible to users less familiar with traditional app-based navigation, particularly aiming to bring the next 500 million users into e-commerce.

As per the company, the assistant is designed to bring a more conversational layer to online shopping, allowing users to speak in their own words, ask follow-up questions and refine choices through an ongoing interaction. The tool is intended to support the full purchase journey, from product discovery to checkout, by surfacing relevant options, providing contextual details such as reviews, and guiding users through steps like payment and delivery.

Currently available in English and Hindi, Meesho plans to expand the feature to more regional languages. The broader aim is to reach a large base of potential users who are still outside the e-commerce ecosystem, particularly in tier 2 and smaller markets.

The assistant is powered by a robust AI architecture designed for real-world usage at scale. It leverages edge computing for speech understanding and synthesis to ensure low latency and cost efficiency.

From a technology standpoint, the assistant uses a combination of edge computing for speech processing and a multi-agent framework to handle multi-step interactions. The system is also trained on regional language nuances and supports multimodal inputs, allowing it to interpret both voice and on-screen context.

Sanjeev Kumar, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Meesho Limited, said, “At Meesho, AI has always been at the core of how we build for scale. With over 251 million annual transacting users, we have a deep understanding of how India shops, and that allows us to anticipate and solve for consumer needs in ways that very few platforms can.” 

“Over the years, we have embedded AI and ML across every part of our marketplace, from discovery and pricing to logistics, trust and seller growth. Vaani is a natural extension of this journey. It brings together conversational AI with Meesho’s commerce intelligence to support users from discovery to purchase. The assistant understands user intent, asks follow-up questions, surfaces relevant products, and guides users through key steps in the purchase journey, making the experience more intuitive. Built for real-world usage at scale, it delivers fast, reliable, and context-aware interactions. We believe this is a meaningful step towards making e-commerce more accessible and more human, and towards shaping a future where technology adapts to people, not the other way around,” he added.

According to the company, 79% of users said voice simplifies shopping, while 94% found the experience intuitive and 62% reported being comfortable using it for transactions. Within the first month of launch, over 1.5 million users have interacted with the assistant. The company noted that engagement has been repeat-led, with users returning frequently and engaging in multiple conversations over short periods, suggesting early habit formation.

Meesho also stated that users who engage with the assistant see a 22% higher conversion rate, move more efficiently from discovery to purchase, and show lower returns and cancellations, although these trends are based on internal data.