Govt Will Intervene If Quick, Ecommerce Firms Fail To Improve Service

SUMMARY

Kharge has received numerous complaints on customers being tangled with unaddressed responses from AI chatbots

He insists that the idea of using AI tools is to ensure better customer service and delivery

Platforms failing to raise standards would lead to facing potential government regulations

Karnataka’s IT and BT minister Priyank Kharge has reportedly warned ecommerce and quick commerce platforms in the state to improve their customer service and delivery experience.

As per ET’s report, platforms failing to raise standards would lead to facing potential government regulations, said Kharge.

Kharge has received numerous complaints on customers being tangled with unaddressed responses from AI chatbots, the report further said.

“As an advocate of technology, I’m not saying we shouldn’t use chatbots or AI. However, the idea of using these tools is to ensure better customer service and delivery,” Kharge was quoted as saying in the report.

He also confirmed that the government will not intervene urgently with regulatory checks, however, he urged that companies must tend to these issues.

This development also comes days after he delivered an address at the Bengaluru GAFX 2025 conference, where Kharge revealed the state’s plan of becoming India’s leading esports hub, as the sector has been gaining traction in the southern pockets.

The move does highlight the growing dependence of consumers on quick commerce and ecommerce platforms for their purchases. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also acknowledged that these players are driving private consumption in the country.

With the higher consumer traffic on these platforms, ecommerce and quick commerce players have now been competing with tighter timelines to retain higher market share, leading to questionable quality on their services.

Apart from the issue with customer service complaints, the government has intervened in cases of quick commerce platforms flouting metrology norms as well as expiry date display on their apps, in the past year.

Furthermore, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) was likely to approach the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to intervene on the launch of 10-minute food delivery standalone apps, Bistro and Snacc, under suspicions of Zomato and Swiggy possessing crucial consumer data and using it to divert customers towards their products sold through these apps.