JioStar’s Kiran Mani: AI is cutting discovery time and changing how India watches

New Delhi: Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing how audiences discover, consume and engage with content, much like smartphones once transformed the telecom industry, said Kiran Mani, CEO – Digital, JioStar, speaking at the IAMAI India Digital Summit 2026 in Bengaluru on Thursday.

Mani said the current AI phase marks a shift from instruction-led technology to intuitive experiences. Drawing a parallel with the move from BlackBerry devices to smartphones, he said AI is making media consumption simpler, faster and more natural for users.

Mani said the most visible impact of AI is at the consumer level, where platforms are increasingly reducing the friction involved in content discovery. Instead of relying on static signals such as age, location or past viewing history, AI systems are now responding to real-time behaviour such as pausing, skipping, searching or asking questions. This, he said, is shortening browsing cycles and helping viewers find relevant content faster.

He added that AI is also making second-screen behaviour more seamless. Viewers can now explore contextual information such as actors, characters, match statistics or key moments without disengaging from the primary screen, integrating curiosity directly into the viewing experience.

Highlighting India’s diverse media ecosystem, Mani said AI must function across a wide spectrum of devices, from connected televisions in urban households to affordable smartphones in smaller towns. The challenge, he noted, is not limited to building sophisticated intelligence, but ensuring it works reliably at scale across millions of screens and varying access conditions.

On the content creation side, Mani said AI is lowering traditional barriers by reducing production constraints. Stories that once required significant budgets can now be visualised and produced more efficiently, allowing creators to focus on ideas rather than execution limitations. He said the line between premium long-form content and short-format storytelling is increasingly blurring.

“Good stories don’t need to be long to be impactful. A short format can be just as powerful if the idea connects,” Mani said.

Addressing concerns around AI replacing jobs or creativity, Mani said AI is driving an evolution of roles rather than eliminating them. By automating repetitive and execution-heavy tasks, AI is freeing creative teams to focus on higher-value work. He added that some of the most meaningful innovation is emerging where technologists and creative professionals collaborate closely.

From a platform standpoint, Mani said the focus is shifting from being present on every screen to being intelligent across every screen. With infrastructure largely in place, intelligence now enables platforms to better understand viewer intent and respond in real time, including surfacing relevant highlights, information and interactions while users remain engaged.

Interactivity is also becoming a central element of media experiences. Mani pointed to features such as voting, meme creation and interactive tools, noting that audiences often find unexpected and creative ways to participate when given the opportunity.

He said personalisation is also evolving beyond fixed user segments. AI systems are increasingly learning from moment-to-moment behaviour, making recommendations feel more relevant and less repetitive, and improving the overall discovery experience.

Looking ahead, Mani identified conversational AI and voice-led interactions as key growth areas. He said true conversational experiences go beyond simple voice search, enabling dialogue-driven engagement as voice, text and video converge.

Summing up, Mani said the success of AI in media will be measured by real outcomes rather than adoption alone. “If we can turn every screen into a meaningful interaction and help creators build more sustainable careers, we would have genuinely moved the industry forward,” he said.