Why InMobi is banking on 'app-less' consumption, AI-driven user platforms
offers a smart lock screen platform for Android-based smartphones. Tewari, who refers to the lock screens as "surfaces", is "aiming to build a 'surface economy' by promoting consumption of the internet in a very different way", which he describes as 'app-less' consumption".
This does not mean bypassing apps but "simply enabling a very different way of getting the consumer to the app they want to use, with the help of Glance's app-less layer," Tewari said in an interview. Glance, he points out, is already being used by developers, publishers, and brands to connect to consumers and grow their businesses.
"It (Glance) is now using AI to help the phone interact with all the apps out there and get the content you desire, thus converting surfaces such as lock screens and home screens in the phone into a consumption platform," he adds. Glance users, thus, don't have to unlock their screens and go to the Play Store, or the App Store, to download an app, and "app icons on the home screen will be replaced by content on the surfaces as the first touch point for publishers".
Tewari also expects brands to connect with consumers "not exclusively through in-app ads but also through brand narratives on these surfaces". He also believes that commerce using Glance "will not just be catalogue-based and “add-to-cart" experiences but users will discover products they would love to buy on these surfaces and also do window shopping".
This involves transforming the power of the lock screen with AI, not just to personalize but also to transform the presentation layer. For instance, he explains, “If there is a news item on IPL (Indian Premier League), it could come be presented to me in a different way from some other person." "Similarly, a
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