Google Tests a 'Buy' Button for Flipkart Inside Gemini and AI Mode in India

Google is testing a "Buy" button on select Flipkart product listings inside Gemini and AI Mode in India that opens a Flipkart-branded checkout without leaving the AI interface, according to TechCrunch. The test is limited to some users and products such as smartphones and electronics, with a broader rollout reportedly planned for later in October ahead of India's festive shopping season.

What's Being Tested

TechCrunch reported on Sept. 26 that some users in India now see a "Buy" button on certain Flipkart listings that appear in Gemini, Google's AI assistant, and in AI Mode, the conversational, AI-powered version of Google Search. Tapping the button takes shoppers straight into a Flipkart checkout flow inside the AI interface, based on people familiar with the matter and an experience TechCrunch saw.

The early test is narrow. It covers a limited group of users and a small selection of products, including smartphones, electronics, and mobile accessories. Other users still see standard Flipkart product listings in Gemini and AI Mode without the option to buy directly.

One of TechCrunch's sources said Google plans to roll out the experience more broadly later in October, ahead of India's festive season, when e-commerce companies run some of their biggest sales of the year.

Google did not confirm the details. A spokesperson told TechCrunch the company is "always testing new features and experiences to help people discover and connect with businesses more easily," and said it had no further details to share. Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart, did not immediately respond to TechCrunch.

Not the Checkout Google Showed Before

The test stands out because it looks different from what Google has previously demonstrated. Earlier this year, Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), an open standard meant to let AI agents interact with retailers across the whole shopping journey, including checkout. A protocol, in this sense, is a shared set of rules that lets different companies' software talk to each other. At the time, Google said UCP would let shoppers buy eligible products through Gemini and AI Mode using a Google-hosted checkout.

The Flipkart test instead brings up a checkout branded as Flipkart's own. TechCrunch notes it is not clear what technology powers the test. Google has also expanded UCP with other options, including letting shoppers send items to a retailer's site to finish the purchase.

That distinction matters for merchants. A retailer-branded checkout keeps the store's identity and relationship with the customer front and center, even when the shopping journey starts inside someone else's AI assistant.

Why Flipkart, and Why India

Google has more than a technology partnership with Flipkart. It invested about $350 million in the company in 2024 as part of a funding round led by Walmart, taking a minority stake, TechCrunch reported. Earlier this month, Google named Flipkart among the merchants partnering with it to bring what it calls "agentic" shopping experiences to consumers in India, though it had not disclosed this test or a timeline.

India is a large proving ground. TechCrunch describes it as the world's second-largest internet market, with more than a billion internet subscribers, where Flipkart and Amazon compete fiercely for shoppers. That competition peaks during the festive season.

For now, the Buy button is not available across all retailers that Google's AI surfaces. In the experience TechCrunch saw, Amazon listings appeared alongside Flipkart products but did not offer the option to buy directly through the AI interface.

Where This Fits in Agentic Commerce

"Agentic commerce" describes shopping in which AI agents, software that can take actions and not just answer questions, handle more of the buying process on a person's behalf. The long-term vision includes agents that find, compare, and pay for things within limits a human sets, and eventually agents that deal directly with merchants' own systems or agents, sometimes called agent-to-agent or A2A commerce.

The Flipkart test is an early, human-in-the-loop step on that path. The AI helps with discovery, and the shopper still taps "Buy" and completes the checkout. But it collapses the distance between an AI answer and a completed order into a single interface, which is the foundation the more autonomous versions will build on.

Google is not alone. TechCrunch notes that Google and rivals including OpenAI are adding commerce features to their AI products, trying to move beyond answering shopping questions toward playing a direct role in purchases. On the payments side, card networks are building rules for how merchants and banks recognize AI agents that initiate transactions.

For a plain-English explainer of how agents discover merchants, get permission, and pay, see our ultimate guide to A2A (agent-to-agent) commerce.

What to Watch

• Rollout timing. Whether the broader launch arrives later in October, before the festive season, as TechCrunch's source indicated.
• Which merchants join. Whether the Buy option extends beyond Flipkart, including to rivals such as Amazon.
• Whose checkout wins. Whether Google leans toward Google-hosted checkout, retailer-branded checkout, or both.
• The technology underneath. Whether Google confirms that UCP or another system powers the Flipkart flow.

Why It Matters

• The AI assistant becomes a storefront. Adding a Buy button turns product answers into transactions, shifting where shopping journeys start and end.
• Merchants keep their brand, for now. A Flipkart-branded checkout suggests retailers can keep their customer relationship even inside an AI interface.
• India is the test bed. A festive-season rollout in one of the world's largest internet markets would be a major real-world trial of AI-driven checkout.
• It's a step, not the destination. Today's test still relies on a human tapping "Buy," but it lays the groundwork for more autonomous agent shopping.