India pilots AI chatbot-led e-commerce with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude in the mix

India has initiated an innovative pilot program that allows consumers to shop and make payments directly through AI chatbots. Spearheaded by OpenAI's ChatGPT, this initiative also involves integrations with Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude, marking India as a significant market for global AI advancements. On Thursday, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which oversees the widely used Unified Payments Interface (UPI), collaborated with OpenAI and fintech company Razorpay to streamline shopping and payment processes via ChatGPT. Razorpay confirmed to TechCrunch that this pilot is being implemented across the nation and is set to be broadly accessible in the upcoming months. The shopping experience relies on the UPI Reserve Pay protocol, which allows users to allocate a certain amount of funds for future payments to specific merchants. Additionally, UPI Circle, which simplifies UPI authentication, enables transactions directly within ChatGPT, eliminating the need to switch between apps or websites. The initial merchant partners for this pilot include Bigbasket, an online grocery store owned by Tata Group, and telecom operator Vi, allowing users to purchase groceries and mobile recharge plans through ChatGPT. Furthermore, Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank are providing the banking infrastructure for the service. With over a billion internet users, India is already a major market for OpenAI’s ChatGPT. OpenAI has been working to expand its presence in the country, having launched a sub-$5 ChatGPT Go plan in August to attract additional subscribers. This commerce pilot is part of a larger strategy to enhance engagement and leverage India's rapidly growing digital economy. Razorpay’s co-founder and CEO, Harshil Mathur, emphasized that this initiative transcends mere payment processing, stating, "It’s a whole new discovery and commerce experience." UPI, which facilitates over 20 billion transactions monthly, has proven to be immensely successful in India. The new AI-driven shopping experience has the potential to further embed UPI into daily commerce, provided consumers embrace chatbots as a shopping interface. Mathur indicated that a proof-of-concept for the new payment experience with Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude has been completed, with these integrations expected to be available to users in a few weeks. Razorpay is also in discussions with additional merchants beyond Bigbasket and Vi, anticipating a wider rollout in the coming months. Both Google and Anthropic are also experiencing increased user engagement in India. While Google has established a strong presence through products like Android, Search, and YouTube, OpenAI and Anthropic are actively working on localizing their AI solutions for Indian users. In the current framework for agentic payments, there is no designated revenue-sharing model for the partners involved. However, this initiative could enhance user retention for AI companies, including OpenAI. Mathur assured that AI companies will not have access to payment data under the new arrangement, as users will authorize transactions through two-factor authentication. Recently, OpenAI introduced an "Instant Checkout" experience and the Agentic Commerce Protocol in partnership with Stripe, while Google unveiled its Agent Payments Protocol, allowing AI agents to perform transactions on behalf of users. Reeju Datta, co-founder of Cashfree Payments, remarked, "This is still an early, forward-looking concept, but one with tremendous potential. Its adoption will naturally grow in line with how fast shopping agents take off." Alongside Razorpay, Cashfree Payments has launched its own Agentic Payments MCP, which empowers merchants to facilitate payments through shopping agents. Cashfree’s solution supports various payment methods, including cards and UPI, though merchants are required to independently develop shopping agents for integration. A demonstration video showcased a chatbot facilitating the purchase of an iPhone, although Datta refrained from naming the initial merchants involved in this agentic shopping experience, only noting that they are collaborating with several large enterprise merchants across diverse sectors such as e-commerce and lending.