India is becoming a new testing ground for AI-driven e-commerce. The country has recently launched a breakthrough pilot project that allows consumers to shop and pay directly through AI chatbots. OpenAI's ChatGPT has been the first to implement this feature, while Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude are also developing corresponding support. India is striving to position itself as a key market for global AI companies.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) announced this week its collaboration with OpenAI and fintech company Razorpay to launch technology that enables shopping and payment within ChatGPT conversations. This innovation is built on NPCI's newly launched UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle protocols, combined with the merchant integration layer developed by Razorpay, allowing businesses to receive payments through AI chatbots.
The initial merchants participating in the pilot include Indian online grocery platform BigBasket and telecom operator Vi. Users can directly purchase daily necessities or recharge mobile phone credit within ChatGPT, while Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank provide the banking payment layer support. Razorpay stated that this new experience is expected to be rolled out nationwide in the coming months.
India has over a billion internet users and is one of the most promising digital economies in the world. OpenAI currently has a large user base in India. In August this year, OpenAI launched a ChatGPT Go subscription plan priced below $5, further strengthening its presence in the local market. This e-commerce pilot is an important step in its expansion into India's digital economy. Harshil Mathur, co-founder of Razorpay, said that this is not just an upgrade in payment experience, but a new way of discovering and consuming products.
The Indian UPI system currently processes over 2 billion transactions per month and is the leading digital payment channel in the country. The next generation of AI-driven shopping experiences is expected to help UPI integrate into various daily consumption scenarios, promoting the system's widespread adoption. If consumers accept the chatbot shopping interface, NPCI could accelerate its digital transformation.
Razorpay has completed proof of concept for payment features based on Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude, and the relevant functions will be available to users in a few weeks. At the same time, the company is in discussions with more merchants to join the program. Google and Anthropic are also rapidly expanding their businesses in India, working to advance AI application localization. Google's Android, search, and YouTube have already deeply established themselves in the local market, while OpenAI and Anthropic are planning to open offices in India and work with large enterprises.
This pilot project does not involve specific revenue-sharing models with partners at this stage, but it provides AI companies with an opportunity to improve user retention. According to a Razorpay statement, AI companies will not have access to transaction data during the payment process. Users need to pre-authorize the amount to be deducted through two-factor authentication, ensuring the security of transactions.
Last month, OpenAI introduced an instant checkout experience and the Agentic Commerce Protocol developed in collaboration with Stripe, helping businesses connect with users through AI agents. Google released the Agent Payments Protocol, enabling AI agents to make payments on behalf of users directly. Local Indian payment startup Cashfree Payments is also pushing similar Agentic Payments MCP products, supporting shopping agents to make direct payments, although merchants need to develop integrations themselves.
A co-founder of Cashfree Payments stated that although this concept is still in the early exploration phase, it has great potential. The speed at which AI agent shopping becomes popular will determine its implementation and growth space. Industry insiders expect that more major companies in India will join the AI-driven shopping ecosystem in the future.
As major global AI platforms accelerate their localization efforts in India and more companies try to join AI-driven shopping experiences, India is becoming a front line for global AI e-commerce innovation. The success or failure of this pilot not only affects the future development of India's digital economy, but may also provide an important reference for other global markets.
