IndiaMART has stopped publishing traffic data due to increasing volumes of bot and agentic traffic undermining the reliability of its platform metrics. The decision follows a slight decline in active buyer conversions despite growth in registered users, highlighting ongoing challenges balancing platform integrity and user growth.
- Agentic bot traffic distorts platform engagement metrics.
- OTP verification reduced conversions by 1%, active buyers dropped 3%.
- Legal battle underway over AI exclusion and content moderation.
What happened
IndiaMART disclosed during its Q4FY26 earnings call that it has ceased reporting traffic metrics due to a substantial presence of bot and agentic traffic complicating the assessment of genuine user engagement. The company noted that automated scripts created by agents manipulate inquiry submissions and scrape platform data to inflate activity figures artificially. To address this, IndiaMART implemented mandatory OTP verification for multiple inquiries, which led to a 1% decrease in inquiry conversion and a 3% year-on-year drop in active buyers despite a 9% increase in registered buyer accounts.
Additionally, IndiaMART is engaged in a legal confrontation following its December 2025 lawsuit against OpenAI for allegedly excluding the platform from AI-powered business discovery results in ChatGPT. The company claims this selective exclusion harms its commercial interests, while also maintaining that AI-based B2B query handling is currently limited. The platform is also experiencing supplier attrition amid geopolitical conflicts and pricing issues, reporting a net loss of 1,236 paying suppliers in Q4FY26.
Why it matters
This development underscores profound challenges for IndiaMART as it seeks to preserve trust and transparency in a digital marketplace environment increasingly affected by sophisticated bot activity. Accurate traffic and inquiry metrics are vital for stakeholders to verify platform health, buyer-seller engagement, and the overall effectiveness of IndiaMART’s matchmaking services. The drop in active buyers signals potential erosion in genuine marketplace participation, raising concerns about the platform’s long-term network effects and revenue sustainability.
Furthermore, IndiaMART’s legal stance against AI-driven exclusion and its simultaneous use of AI for content moderation presents a complex regulatory tightrope around neutrality and responsibility. The pending implementation of India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act adds another layer of compliance complexity, particularly regarding data governance and user consent protocols in managing vast proprietary behavioral data. How IndiaMART navigates these challenges will influence its positioning in India’s competitive B2B digital commerce landscape.
What to watch next
Key areas to monitor include IndiaMART’s future reporting practices and whether it develops new, reliable metrics to replace traditional traffic indicators. How effective its OTP verification and other anti-bot measures prove in restoring traffic quality without further suppressing genuine user interaction will be pivotal. The platform’s legal battle with OpenAI and broader regulatory scrutiny surrounding AI use and data privacy compliance in India also bear close watching, as outcomes may shape the operating environment for all Indian digital marketplaces.
Additionally, supplier trends amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and pricing dynamics remain critical. IndiaMART must balance technological and legal strategies with supplier retention to sustain its marketplace vitality. Innovations in AI applied to marketplace matchmaking and content moderation, if transparent and carefully governed, may offer competitive advantages but must be reconciled with safe harbour protections and user trust to avoid future disputes.