Zepto has added an AI-powered feature called Consumer Persona to its ATOM brand intelligence platform, according to a press release reviewed by MediaNama. The feature allows brands to analyse why specific consumer segments are or are not buying products on the platform and to respond with real-time marketing interventions.
Consumer Persona introduces psychographic profiling, behavioural segmentation, and an AI persona chat tool. The feature marks a deeper push by Zepto to monetise its first-party data by offering brands insight into user behaviour and preferences.
In May, MediaNama reported on Zepto ATOM's launch as a paid analytics tool for brands. At the time, the platform offered live dashboards with minute-level updates, PIN-code level performance maps, and Zepto GPT, an in-house NLP assistant trained on internal data.
Consumer Persona moves the platform from descriptive reporting to more predictive and diagnostic insight. According to the company, the tool helps brands "diagnose drop-offs and understand non-buyers," and turn a "multi-week, multi-agency process into real-time, data-led action powered by Zepto's unique first-party insights."
In addition, the tool operates at both city and category levels. It builds dynamic profiles using "demographics (age, gender, affluence), psychographics (diet preferences), and behaviour (cart correlations, brand loyalty, frequency, and timing of purchases)."
Consumer Persona enables brands to run real-time marketing interventions based on behavioural data. According to Zepto, brands can chat with AI-generated personas to test marketing ideas, pricing, and messaging, and launch hyper-personalised ad campaigns targeting specific buyer segments. City-level surveys are also planned for future rollout.
Zepto has not disclosed whether Consumer Persona is part of the existing ATOM subscription or offered as a premium add-on.
The company said that more than 100 brands are now using ATOM. The platform has logged over 40,000 hours of usage since May.
In one example, beverage brand VitaBoost used Consumer Persona to target a fitness-focused buyer segment in Mumbai. The AI Persona suggested value-based offers and workout-focused messaging, which the brand tested through surveys and sampling campaigns. This led to what Zepto described as a significant increase in conversions within the target segment.
ATOM provides access to granular behavioural data, brands may vary in their ability to interpret and act on these insights at scale.
Zepto's expansion of ATOM comes as the company works to strengthen its revenue profile ahead of a delayed initial public offering. The company, which had earlier indicated plans to go public in 2025, has now deferred its IPO to 2026, according to a Moneycontrol report.
The quick commerce platform missed its Q4 FY25 revenue and cost targets and is now working to bring down its cash burn and improve its profit profile. The report also said that Zepto had been burning $30 million and $35 million around November 2024, with this figure nearly doubling in early 2025 as competition from Blinkit and Swiggy Instamart intensified.
In parallel, Zepto is seeking to raise up to $700 million from private investors. According to Moneycontrol, CEO Aadit Palicha has been in the US in recent weeks to secure fresh funding, with term sheets reportedly received from existing backers Avenir Growth and General Catalyst.
The launch of Consumer Persona may reflect a broader push to improve unit economics and expand platform-based revenue streams. HDFC Securities, in its earlier analysis of e-commerce profitability, identified levers such as raising average order values, increasing take rates through advertising and private labels, and lowering last-mile delivery costs.
Zepto has already experimented with monetisation strategies such as Zepto Café, its in-house Relish brands, and the Zepto Pass loyalty program. Consumer Persona expands this approach by potentially turning behavioural insights into higher conversion rates for brands.
However, this outcome depends on how effectively brands use these insights and whether they translate into measurable returns. This remains untested at scale.
Consumer Persona marks a deeper push into Zepto's use of behavioural and psychographic data for commercial insights. While the company says the tool leverages data science to deliver "aggregated and anonymised" insights without collecting personally identifiable information (PII), it still relies on user behaviour and profiling to guide brand campaigns.
So far, the quick commerce platform has not clarified whether users are informed that their behaviour may be used to generate such synthetic personas, or whether they can opt out of this data use.
Beyond its own platform, the company has also begun monetising user data through a partnership with global ad-tech firm The Trade Desk, which enables off-platform ad targeting based on shopping behaviour. This raises similar questions around layered profiling and the transparency of user consent.
Previously, Zepto had curated mood-based product categories such as "Crampy" and "Hangry" based on user search behaviour. At the time, privacy advocates raised concerns about emotional profiling and user awareness.
Mishi Choudhary, Founder of SFLC.in, told MediaNama:
"My view is that all such offerings should be opt-in and not opt-out. The responsibility should not be left to us, but a company must actively seek permission before they use any data about users. From this press release I have no idea if they sought any user consent or made them aware that their behaviour is being collected to create some synthetic personas. Enabling brands to chat can lead to automated profiling in setting up prices. If we were in the EU, under the EU AI Act it will be High Risk classification."
With Consumer Persona, Zepto is joining a broader trend of quick commerce and e-commerce platforms seeking to monetise first-party data and behavioural insights. As more of these tools move beyond descriptive analytics toward predictive profiling, questions around transparency, user choice, and responsible data use are likely to grow.
How platforms balance this push for data-driven revenue with consumer privacy expectations will remain important to watch, especially as Zepto moves closer to an eventual IPO.
