Google tests buying from Walmart-owned Flipkart through Gemini and AI Mode in India

Google has begun testing an option that allows some shoppers in India to purchase Flipkart products directly through its Gemini and AI Mode interfaces. In the trial, certain Flipkart listings show a “Buy” button inside the AI experience; tapping it brings up a Flipkart-branded checkout flow so users do not need to leave the AI interface. The test is limited to a subset of users and product categories, including smartphones, electronics and mobile accessories.

The company expects to expand the experience more widely later in October, in advance of India’s festive shopping season, according to people familiar with the matter. Other users continue to see standard Flipkart product listings in Gemini and AI Mode without the direct-buy option, and competing retailer listings such as Amazon’s did not show an equivalent purchase button in the instance seen by TechCrunch.

This experiment follows Google’s broader push to add commerce functionality to its AI offerings. Earlier this year the company introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard intended to let AI agents interact with retailers across shopping journeys — including checkout — and to support Google-hosted checkout experiences or transferring items to a retailer’s site. The checkout flow observed in the Flipkart test appeared to be Flipkart-branded rather than the Google-hosted checkout Google previously demonstrated, and the underlying technology for this specific trial was not disclosed.

Google also has an established commercial relationship with Flipkart: it invested roughly $350 million in the e-commerce firm in 2024 as part of a funding round. Google described the Flipkart trial only as one of many experiments the company runs to help people discover and connect with businesses more easily. Flipkart did not immediately respond to requests for comment.