Google tests buying from Walmart-owned Flipkart through Gemini and AI Mode in India
Google has begun testing a way for shoppers in India to buy products from Walmart-owned Flipkart directly inside Gemini and AI Mode. A Buy button appears on selected Flipkart listings and takes users to a Flipkart-branded checkout flow without leaving the AI interface.
The test is limited to some users and a small set of products, including smartphones, electronics and mobile accessories. Google plans to widen the rollout later in October, ahead of India's festive shopping season. Rival listings, including those from Amazon, appear alongside Flipkart products but do not carry the Buy option.
The move extends Google's AI services from product discovery into transactions. Earlier this year the company introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard for AI agents to interact with retailers through checkout, and it has since added the ability to hand items back to a retailer's own site to complete a purchase. Google invested about $350 million in Flipkart in 2024 and named the company among merchants partnering on agentic shopping experiences in India.
For brands, the test signals that being surfaced in an AI answer may increasingly sit alongside the ability to transact there. Retailers and agencies tracking citations in AI assistants will need to watch whether checkout placement becomes another position to compete for, and whether it is tied to merchant partnerships rather than organic visibility.
Reported by TechCrunch AI ↗
Topics: AI Mode, Gemini, Google Search