From switchgear to software, Schneider Electric charts AI-era strategy

The recent India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi did not discuss artificial intelligence in abstract terms. It was being measured in megawatts.

Inside Bharat Mandapam, amid start-ups demonstrating AI-created bots and global executives debating the next wave of machine learning, Schneider Electric positioned itself not as a creator of algorithms, but as an enabler of the infrastructure that allows them to function.

For Rajat Abbi, vice president of marketing of Schneider Electric, Greater India, the significance of the summit lies in its scale as much as its symbolism. 

“The entire India Impact Summit has been a phenomenal experience,” he says. Calling it “the world’s biggest AI summit", he points to the diversity of exhibitors and delegates as evidence that AI is no longer confined to the technology sector. 

“You have tech companies, you have start-ups, you have infrastructure and energy management companies such as Schneider Electric, and you have IT, telecom, and manufacturing companies. It shows that there is a huge excitement around artificial intelligence.”

That excitement, he adds, is translating into tangible products. “That excitement is now turning into real products and solutions being developed by organisations, whether it is AI-powered products, AI-created apps, bots, or robots.”

For Schneider Electric, the commercial implications are clear. “One of the clear impacts of AI will be the increased demand for energy,” Abbi says. As AI adoption drives growth in data centres, energy consumption rises with it. 

“An increase in demand for data centre automatically means an increase in demand for energy. And for an energy technology company like Schneider Electric, it was critical for us to be present at a summit like this.”

The company’s showcase in Delhi focused squarely on that intersection. “We are talking about the lifecycle of the data centre,” he says. “Right from how do you design a data centre, how do you build a data centre, how do you operate a data centre, and eventually how do you maintain a data centre.” 

The booth featured low- and medium-voltage switchgear, cooling solutions and its IoT-enabled EcoStruxure platform, alongside software tools that help customers monitor operations.

Explainer: EcoStruxure platform is an open, interoperable system architecture designed for buildings, data centers, industry, and infrastructure.

Beyond the hardware and platforms, Abbi used the stage to reiterate the company’s long-standing presence in India. Schneider Electric has been in the country for over 60 years, he notes, operating 31 factories and employing over 38,000 people. The summit becomes, in that sense, both a technology showcase and a reminder of legacy.

Forums as marketing avenues

Trade forums, he suggests, remain central to the company’s marketing mix. But participation is not merely ceremonial. “The summit is a good place to really understand what is going on in AI, what kind of solutions and technologies others are developing, and to also learn about the emerging technologies. The good thing about AI is that its capabilities are evolving dramatically and rapidly.”

Learning and demonstrating go hand in hand. "It was important for us to demonstrate the technologies, the solutions, and the available offers that can make data centre creators and providers more efficient, resilient, and sustainable."

Still, Abbi insists that events are part of a broader framework.

“We are living in a digital age, therefore most of our marketing initiatives and programmes are digital-led, and then trade shows, exhibitions, experiential marketing and ATL all support digital in amplification.”

The marketing challenge, he acknowledges, is complexity. Schneider Electric’s target audience ranges from electricians and distributors to architects and chief executives. “Our objective is to ensure that we are reaching out to the right stakeholders with the right content but with credible and factual information about our products and solutions,” he says.

Artificial intelligence plays a role in that outreach as well. “AI is for all,” Abbi says. “AI is not for one function or one department.” On the customer side, AI-powered solutions enable predictive maintenance and efficiency gains.

Internally, AI tools are deployed across functions, including marketing. “Marketing is one of the biggest users of AI, whether it is utilisation of AI tools to write content, create interesting videos or creatives, or even use AI to reach the target audience by using programme buying,” he says. AI-powered tools, he adds, help optimise media purchases.

Yet the company treads cautiously. “We are a very responsible company,” Abbi says. “Before we go for any AI tool, we check the efficacy of the tool. We ensure that the tool is cyber compliant. We ensure that the tool also ensures that the data privacy rules are not deviated from."

As a French-origin company, Schneider Electric complies with the General Data Protection Regulation, alongside local regulations. “Data privacy is given topmost priority,” he says.

Explainer: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive EU law, effective from May 25, 2018, that governs how organizations collect, process, and store the personal data of individuals within the European Union and the European Economic Area.

Beyond AI, growth in India remains a central theme. “We are privileged to be in a country which is one of the fastest-growing major economies in the world,” Abbi says.

Expansion, he explains, aligns with broader economic trends, from infrastructure development and data centre investments to rising disposable incomes and smart home adoption.

On rural penetration, he rejects the notion of a divided market. Through brands such as Lauritz Knudsen, which the company acquired in 2020, Schneider Electric already has a presence in tier-two, tier-three and rural markets, including in agriculture.

“We don’t look at India in two parlances," he says. “We see India as one India.” At the same time, he acknowledges that “every few kilometres, the expectation of the consumer changes”, requiring tailored solutions.

Sporting associations also form part of the outreach. Lauritz Knudsen is the principal supporter of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, with fresh campaigns expected around the new season. But Abbi describes such partnerships as evaluated opportunities rather than default plays. This was in response to a question about the brand's ambitions pertaining to the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

As for consumer trends, he identifies authenticity, curiosity and trust as defining themes in the AI era.

“When everyone is using the same tools, the same technologies, and the same LLMs, how do you stand out as a brand?” he asks. “You need to spend a little bit of extra time in original thinking.”

Search behaviour, he adds, is evolving. “SEO still continues to be critical, but we see AEO becoming important,” he says, noting that a growing number of consumers use large language models to search for brands and solutions. In that environment, “trust is becoming even more important”.

Explainer: AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) differ primarily in goal and format: SEO aims to rank websites on search engines to drive clicks, while AEO targets "position zero" (AI answers/voice assistants) to provide direct, concise answers.

Predicting what comes next, he concedes, is difficult. “No one can predict what will happen six months down the line or what new tools will emerge.”

What is clear, however, is that AI is reshaping both infrastructure and imagination. And for companies operating at the intersection of energy and technology, the conversation is no longer about whether AI matters, but how sustainably it can be powered.