India, home to over 800 million Internet users and one of the world’s youngest digital populations, is fast becoming a testbed for the next generation of media innovation.

As participants in the recent INMA Bengaluru Tech Innovation Study Tour learned, India is producing models that global publishers can learn from — and in some cases, adapt directly. 

In these study tour stops — OneIndia, Condé Nast, Josh, and PickYourTrain — study tour participants learned about how the technology is foundational in some companies and closely monitored by editors at others.

AI is no longer experimental — it’s operational

While AI remains a debated topic globally, Indian publishers are already deploying it as part of their core content infrastructure — with clear guardrails and human oversight.

The use of AI spans the full lifecycle: from story discovery and creation, to metadata, visuals, and even video production. It’s not a headline experiment — it’s becoming foundational.

At OneIndia, the proprietary AI platform “Wise” is shaping everything from editorial planning to output velocity. The system monitors real-time trends across search and social platforms, recommends story angles and provides editors with headline options, visuals, and even SEO optimisation.

As a result, OneIndia has reduced its article production time from 30 minutes to just five — while maintaining editorial oversight and quality standards. The company’s Spark Originals initiative extends these capabilities into video, producing short-form explainers and brand stories using AI-generated visuals, audio, and scripting.

Meanwhile, Dashtoon is redefining the comic and visual storytelling category with an AI-powered production model that compresses what was once weeks of creative effort into hours. Their platform can convert a novel into a script, generate illustrations, and produce videos in vertical scroll or reel format — all while localising character names and cultural references for different markets.

With production costs slashed from US$1,500 per episode to just US$150, Dashtoon has released over 400 comics, with 60% of its core audience comprising women aged 20-34. Completion rates for video episodes exceed 60%, indicating that AI-driven content, when well-executed, can outperform traditionally produced formats in both scale and quality.

For media companies globally, these examples provide a practical lens on what responsible, scalable AI integration looks like in everyday content operations — not theoretical use cases.

Operational efficiency + editorial Integrity: Condé Nast’s blueprint

In a world where automation and AI are becoming pervasive, Condé Nast is holding a firm line on editorial quality — even as it builds a highly centralised and tech-powered global operation.

From its India hub, Condé Nast supports global functions across technology, finance, legal, and analytics, running a unified content platform that powers 32 markets and 200,000+ stories annually. Editors have access to real-time dashboards that track engagement, optimise headlines, and personalise layout elements — all while maintaining full editorial discretion.

What’s most notable is the company’s refusal to use AI for content creation. While they leverage machine learning for translations and insights, all editorial outputs are human-authored and reviewed.

This isn’t a rejection of technology — it’s a reinforcement of brand positioning. In a media environment saturated with AI-generated content, trust is their competitive moat.

The Condé Nast model demonstrates that efficiency and creativity can coexist — and that a unified backend does not mean uniform front-end experiences.

For legacy brands undergoing transformation, this is a blueprint for preserving identity while scaling globally.

Product-led personalisation is driving video discovery

Short-form video continues to dominate consumption patterns in India, but winning in this space is about more than just format. It's about precision, relevance, and platform tuning.

Josh, a homegrown short-video app, has differentiated itself by focusing on relatable, vernacular content — content that feels native to Bharat rather than imported from global influencer culture.

Their product and AI stack is optimised for exactly this audience. Using GPT-based models, Josh enriches every video with contextual captions, emojis, and hashtags, enabling better categorization and discovery.

Personalised feeds are fine-tuned through in-house algorithms that account for language preferences, location, and engagement signals — yielding a 30%-35% uplift in feed recommendation accuracy. The platform also moderates content in real time using its own AI models for copyright detection, NSFW classification, and community safety.

What’s noteworthy is Josh’s strategic intent: relevance over virality. While global competitors chase mass engagement with polished, aspirational content, Josh wins by understanding that users in Tier 2/3 India are seeking authenticity and local flavour.

For publishers experimenting with short-form video, this is a master class in aligning format with cultural context.

Beyond media: lessons from travel-tech personalisation

Although not a publisher, PickYourTrail, a tech-driven travel platform, offered perhaps the most relevant metaphor for where media could be headed: high-touch personalisation at scale, powered by AI but led by human intent.

Their platform uses over 80 APIs to create real-time itineraries, calculate dynamic pricing, and personalise recommendations for hotels, routes, and activities — reducing trip planning time from hours to seconds. Yet, for high-value transactions, human consultants step in to offer empathy, flexibility, and final conversion — recognising that travel, like news, is emotional, not just transactional.

The company’s segmentation is clear: They serve India’s top 5% of credit-savvy travelers — an audience similar in behavior and expectations to premium news subscribers. With a 15-minute call-back window, a structured call script based on trip behaviour, and deep personalisation, PickYourTrail is showing how technology and editorial-style storytelling (even in travel) can converge into a product experience that’s both scalable and trusted.

For media leaders thinking about product journeys, conversion funnels, or premium tier experiences, this is a tangible example of how to balance automation with human connection.

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