Google has started a test in India that lets shoppers buy products from Walmart-owned Flipkart inside Gemini and AI Mode. TechCrunch reported on September 26 that users in the test see a Buy button on select Flipkart listings. Tapping it opens a Flipkart checkout flow without leaving the AI interface. The account comes from people familiar with the test and from an experience TechCrunch saw.

The early test covers some users and a small set of products: smartphones, electronics, and mobile accessories. Other people still see ordinary Flipkart listings in Gemini and AI Mode, without a way to buy them from the AI interface.

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Silkscreen of a hand paused above a blank button beside an unmarked phone.
The hand has not pressed the button. It stands for an in-chat purchase that is still limited to some users, and it is not a checkout screenshot., AI-generated illustration, not a news photograph

One person said Google plans to roll the experience out more broadly later in October, before India's festive shopping season. A company spokesperson did not confirm that date. Asked about the test, the spokesperson told TechCrunch that Google is always testing new features to help people discover and connect with businesses more easily. The company regularly runs experiments and has no further details to share.

Earlier this year Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol as an open standard meant to let AI agents interact with retailers across the shopping journey, including checkout. Google said then that shoppers could buy eligible products through Gemini and AI Mode with a Google-hosted checkout. It later added a way to transfer items to a retailer's site to finish the purchase. The Flipkart test TechCrunch saw is not that Google-hosted checkout. Tapping Buy brings up a Flipkart-branded checkout flow. The report says it is not clear what technology powers the test.

Earlier this month Google said Flipkart was among the merchants partnering on what it calls agentic shopping experiences in India. It had not disclosed the test's details or a rollout timeline. Google also has an investment in Flipkart. In 2024 it put about $350 million into the company in a round led by the U.S. retailer, and took a minority stake.

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The Buy option does not appear on every retailer that Google's AI services surface. In the experience TechCrunch saw, listings from rivals including Amazon sat next to Flipkart products and did not offer a direct purchase. Flipkart did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

What is established is a limited test: some users, some categories, checkout that stays inside the AI interface, and a Flipkart-branded flow rather than the earlier Google-hosted checkout. A wider October release is one person's account, not a date the spokesperson confirmed.

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要点

  • The Buy button is limited to some users and some Flipkart products, including phones, electronics, and accessories.
  • Checkout stays inside the AI interface, on a Flipkart-branded flow.
  • Google's spokesperson confirmed experiments, not an October expansion.
  • Listings from Amazon and other rivals in the same view did not offer direct purchase.