India has initiated a pilot program enabling consumers to shop and conduct payments directly through artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the federal entity overseeing the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), partnered with OpenAI and fintech firm Razorpay to facilitate the rollout, with OpenAI's ChatGPT leading the initial integration.
The nationwide pilot, confirmed by Razorpay, is expected to see broader availability in the coming months. Integrations with Google's Gemini and Anthropic's Claude are currently in development, according to Razorpay co-founder and CEO Harshil Mathur, who stated these additions could go live for consumers within weeks.
The new commerce experience leverages NPCI's UPI Reserve Pay, a protocol designed to allow users to block specific fund amounts for future debits to designated merchants. It also utilizes UPI Circle, a solution that delegates UPI authentication, enabling transactions to be completed directly within chatbot interfaces without requiring users to switch to external applications or websites. Razorpay is responsible for developing the merchant integration layer that connects businesses to these AI chatbots.
Initial merchant partners for the pilot include Tata Group-owned online grocer BigBasket and telecom operator Vi, allowing customers to purchase groceries or mobile recharge plans via ChatGPT. Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank are providing the underlying banking infrastructure for these transactions.
India, recognized as one of OpenAI's primary markets for ChatGPT, is home to over a billion internet subscribers. The commerce pilot aligns with OpenAI's strategy to deepen user engagement and expand its footprint within India's growing digital economy. Mathur characterized the initiative as "not just a payment experience" but "a whole new discovery and commerce experience."
While UPI already processes over 20 billion transactions monthly in India, the AI-led experience aims to embed UPI further into everyday commerce, potentially driving additional adoption. The current framework does not involve a specific revenue-sharing model for partners, focusing instead on user retention for AI companies. Razorpay confirmed that AI companies will not have access to payment data, with transactions requiring two-factor authentication for user pre-authorization.
The broader industry is also exploring similar solutions. OpenAI recently introduced an "Instant Checkout" experience and its Agentic Commerce Protocol in partnership with Stripe. Similarly, Google launched its Agent Payments Protocol to facilitate AI agents in making user-initiated transactions. Cashfree Payments, another online merchant payments startup, has also introduced its Agentic Payments MCP, supporting various payment methods including UPI, for merchants developing their own shopping agents.
