Neha Sharma Katyal has joined Glu.ai as Head of Growth, India, taking responsibility for driving the company’s growth strategy as brands and consumers increasingly adopt AI-powered search and discovery.
Katyal announced her move on LinkedIn, highlighting the changing nature of search and how consumers are moving beyond traditional keyword-based queries to having conversations with AI. This shift, she noted, is creating a new opportunity for brands to rethink how they appear in AI-led recommendations and discovery.
She described Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) as an emerging discipline that could represent one of the biggest shifts in marketing since the rise of mobile.
“This shift is giving rise to a new discipline: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) — arguably the biggest change to marketing since mobile rewrote the rules a decade ago. At Glu, I’ll be leading go-to-market strategy, partnering with brands to build visibility in AI-powered search, forging strategic partnerships, and scaling the business as this emerging category takes shape.”
In her new role, Katyal will focus on Glu’s go-to-market strategy, brand partnerships, strategic alliances, and business growth in India. Her mandate comes as marketers begin exploring how AI platforms are changing the way consumers discover, evaluate, and choose brands.
Unlike traditional search, where brands compete for visibility through keywords and rankings, AI-powered platforms can influence discovery through conversational answers, recommendations and generated responses. This is creating a new challenge for marketers: ensuring that brands are visible and accurately represented within these AI-led interactions.
Katyal brings extensive experience across digital media, advertising and technology. Her career has included leadership roles at The Trade Desk, Disney+ Hotstar, Spotify and Twitter, among other organisations, with experience spanning business development, agency partnerships, digital media and growth.
Her move to Glu also comes at an early stage for the GEO category, which is still developing its frameworks, measurement models and best practices. Katyal acknowledged this in her announcement, describing the opportunity as one where “the playbook is still being written.”
For Glu, her appointment adds an experienced digital-media and commercial leader to its India growth plans. For Katyal, it marks a move into an emerging area of marketing where AI is increasingly becoming part of the consumer journey.
As AI-powered search continues to evolve, the ability to influence how brands appear in these conversations could become an increasingly important part of digital marketing strategy.