Google tests a new direct checkout feature for Indian shoppers, allowing seamless purchases within its AI interfaces on Flipkart products, signalling a push to integrate commerce into its AI platform ahead of India’s busy shopping period.
Google is testing a direct checkout feature for shoppers in India that would let them buy selected Flipkart products inside Gemini and AI Mode, marking another step in the search giant’s effort to turn its artificial intelligence tools from product recommenders into transaction platforms.
In the early trial, users can tap a “Buy” button on some Flipkart listings and move straight into a Flipkart checkout flow without leaving Google’s AI interface, according to people familiar with the matter and an experience observed by TechCrunch. The test is limited to a small group of users and only a narrow set of products, including smartphones, electronics and mobile accessories. Other users still see ordinary product listings without the direct-purchase option.
The move builds on Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol, an open framework the company introduced in January to support purchases inside its AI services, including Gemini and Search’s AI Mode. Google has said the protocol is meant to let shoppers complete transactions without leaving its platforms, and it has described the system as interoperable with broader industry standards designed for agent-based shopping and payments. Reports from Business Standard, Gadgets 360 and other outlets said the protocol was developed with partners including Shopify, Wayfair, Target and Walmart, and that Google has been working to extend it beyond the United States.
The Flipkart test appears to use a different setup from the Google-hosted checkout flow the company previously demonstrated. In this case, tapping buy opens a Flipkart-branded checkout page rather than keeping the payment process inside Google’s own system, and it remains unclear what technology is powering the experience. Google told TechCrunch only that it is “always testing new features and experiences to help people discover and connect with businesses more easily”, adding that it routinely runs experiments and had no further details to share.
The timing suggests Google is trying to get ahead of India’s festive shopping season, when online retailers usually step up discounts and promotions. India is the world’s second-largest internet market, with more than a billion subscribers, and Flipkart and Amazon compete fiercely for share during the period. Google has also built a financial relationship with Flipkart, investing about $350 million in 2024 as part of a round led by Walmart, which owns the e-commerce company.
Google first brought AI Mode to users in India in June 2025, giving shoppers and search users a way to ask more complex questions and receive AI-generated responses backed by links. Since then, the company has been steadily broadening the role of Gemini and AI Mode in shopping, while rivals such as OpenAI have also been exploring ways to move AI assistants deeper into commerce.
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