InMobi subsidiary Glance, which provides lockscreen monetisation solutions, launched an AI-based commerce platform in 140 countries on Thursday to provide its users personalised shopping recommendations based on their preferences and occasions.
The firm expects to onboard 100 million users onto the platform – Glance AI – in the first year, with nearly half of them coming from India, where Glance has a significant presence through its partnerships with smartphone makers.
Besides India, the platform is expected to gain initial traction in markets such as the US and Japan, said Naveen Tewari, founder and chief executive, InMobi and Glance.
“We believe this could be India’s UPI moment for consumer AI — a platform with the potential to become one of the world’s leading AI-driven consumer experiences, and the first of its kind at this scale to emerge from India,” Tewari said.
Launched after months of trial in key markets such as India and the US, Glance AI is available on both Android and iOS devices as an app.
The platform uses information like fashion preferences, colour choice, body shape, and occasions to generate looks using a selfie of the consumer. Users can then modify their parameters or ask for more options, and either download the picture with their desired look, or click on the AI-generated image to enter the commerce journey facilitated by Glance’s partnership with various brands in each market.
In US where the beta version of the product was first launched, Glance AI has partnerships with 400 brands and retailers. In India, it so far has around 15 brand partners, including marketplaces like Myntra, and is on track to reach 100 brand partnerships in the coming weeks.
In the US, the service is live on 100,000-odd devices. Nearly 40% of the users have entered the commerce journey after going through the looks, the firm said.
Based on consumer behaviour gleaned from the soft launch in the US, the firm is confident that Glance AI can generate on average revenue per user (Arpu) of as much as $50 in the US markets. The Arpu, Tewari explained, will obviously vary from market to market, but the company expects the global average to settle somewhere in the $15 range by the end of the first year.
The monetisation model for Glance AI is a revenue share agreement with brand partners and depending on the deal, Glance’s share in a sale through the new platform could range between 20% to 30%.
“(The) monetisation potential (of Glance AI) is considered significant, though hard to predict precisely at this stage. If past performance is an indicator, this launch could considerably accelerate growth beyond current levels,” Tewari said. Currently, Glance, through its lockscreen solutions, is growing at 70-90% year on year, he added.
The commerce solution has also been launched on Glance TV. Launched last year, Glance TV is the large-screen innovation of Glance’s mobile lockscreen solutions. It provides AI-powered suggestions to drive content on the idle TV screen.