Google tests Flipkart checkout inside Gemini, AI Mode

Google's test marks a shift from using AI to surface products toward using it to close the sale. Earlier this year, Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) as an open standard meant to let AI agents interact with retailers across the shopping journey, including checkout, and said shoppers would be able to buy eligible products through Gemini and AI Mode using a Google-hosted checkout. The Flipkart test seen by TechCrunch appears different: it brings up a Flipkart-branded checkout flow, and it is not clear what technology powers it.

The timing points to India's festive shopping season, when e-commerce companies roll out some of their biggest sales and promotions of the year, and where Flipkart and Amazon compete fiercely. Google's financial relationship with Flipkart — it invested about $350 million in 2024 for a minority stake — sits alongside their technology partnership, and Google earlier this month named Flipkart among merchants partnering on "agentic" shopping experiences in India without disclosing test details or a rollout timeline.

For now, the Buy option is not appearing across all retailers surfaced by Google's AI services; in the experience seen by TechCrunch, Amazon listings appeared alongside Flipkart products but did not offer direct purchase. Whether the test widens likely depends on how smoothly the Flipkart-branded checkout performs for the limited set of users and products, and on whether Google extends the same in-AI buying option to other retailers ahead of the festive season.