Google is testing a way for some users in India to buy products from Walmart-owned Flipkart without leaving Gemini or AI Mode. TechCrunch reported, citing people familiar with the matter and a version of the feature it reviewed. Some users in the test saw a ‘Buy’ button on select Flipkart listings, which opens a Flipkart checkout flow inside Google’s AI interface. Amazon listings showed up alongside Flipkart’s but did not offer a direct-purchase option, it reported.

It also reported that this feature could go live at/before Big Billion Days, which begins on October 9th. A Google spokesperson reportedly told TechCrunch that the company is “always testing new features and experiences,” that it regularly runs experiments, and that it had no further details to share. Flipkart did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.

In January 2026, Google announced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) as an open standard that lets AI agents work with retailers across the shopping journey, including checkout. MediaNama reported at the time that Google said that Flipkart backed the protocol.

Google’s test comes after OpenAI tried and scaled back checkout inside ChatGPT: OpenAI launched its Agentic Commerce Protocol with Stripe in September 2025, starting with single-item purchases from US Etsy sellers. In March, The Information reported that OpenAI was dropping the plan to let users buy from product listings in ChatGPT search results and would focus on checkouts inside specific apps that plug into ChatGPT. The reasons cited were that few merchants were selling through the checkout, and that users researched products in ChatGPT but did not buy them there. 

The second digitisation demands that products should be unambiguous: legible not just to people, but to machines that must reason, compare, substitute, and act, or even invoke in chat. When interpretation and execution are a part of the same system, ambiguity becomes a systems problem. Autonomous agents with agency only increase the scale of errors that already exist.” – Nikhil Pahwa

Read Nikhil Pahwa’s brief list of things the AI agents might need to finish to complete a purchase here.

Merchants could have no reason to pay extra for AI-shopping if charged: Since the commercial terms of the test or any Google-Flipkart arrangement have not been disclosed, we don’t know whether Gemini or AI mode will charge users, Flipkart, or businesses for purchases made through it. For instance, The Information reported that OpenAI planned to charge merchants up to 4% on completed purchases through Instant Checkout, roughly 7% once you include card fees and taxes. Nikhil Pahwa rightly argued that merchants may have little reason to pay extra when traditional purchasing channels already work 

Similarly, users also might not have an incentive to rely on purchases via Google’s Gemini or AI mode unless AI systems meaningfully reduce shopping friction, reliably complete transactions and keep the process transparent. 

The price a user sees is not always the price they may pay: For instance, in July, Pahwa asked his AI agent to buy a pack of Pears soap. It showed a base price of Rs 411, with promotional messaging suggesting an effective price of around Rs 315. That lower number depended on payment instruments (like credit cards, preferred UPI app, etc.) and conditional offers, including UPI or wallet cashbacks. “An agent cannot optimise for ‘lowest price’ unless it knows which offers apply to that user,” he wrote. Eventually, the lowest price was available on another platform, despite the discounted price shown on the initial listing.

What safety and transparency frameworks could Google and Flipkart adopt to build user trust?

Why the Google-Flipkart AI-buying deal might raise competition concerns: In December 2025, IndiaMART approached the Calcutta High Court against OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT selectively excluded it from AI-generated responses while surfacing rival B2B marketplaces.  Later, the HC ruled in favour of OpenAI.

Since Flipkart is a marketplace, similar concerns could be raised by businesses that believe they are being selectively disadvantaged.

What we don’t know yet:

  • The tech behind the AI-shopping. TechCrunch says it is unclear what powers this potential Google-Flipkart deal. We do not know whether it runs on UCP/ACP.
  • We also do not know whether the checkout happens entirely inside Gemini/AI Mode or sends the user to Flipkart’s site or app with less/no human intervention.
  • The mode of payment is also unclear. Recently, Swiggy added wallet money for agentic transactions via its MCP. It is unclear how Google would design the payment system.
  • The commercial terms between Google and Flipkart, including any fee or commission, given Google’s investment and stake in Flipkart.
  • Whether other marketplaces like Amazon, Meesho, Myntra and IndiaMart will be integrated later and if other retailers can get equal treatment. 
  • How would returns and refunds be handled in the event of a dispute? Who would handle returns, refunds, cancellations and complaints for a purchase made inside Gemini or AI Mode?

MediaNama has written to Google and Flipkart with these questions and will update this article when they respond.

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