Google Tests Flipkart Checkout Inside Gemini and AI Mode in India
The limited test turns product listings into a route to purchase. Amazon listings appeared alongside them, but without the same option.
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The limited test turns product listings into a route to purchase. Amazon listings appeared alongside them, but without the same option.
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Google is testing a purchase path that lets some shoppers in India move from Flipkart listings in Gemini or AI Mode to a Flipkart-branded checkout without leaving Google’s interface. The limited test covers select phones, electronics and accessories, while other listings—and Amazon offers seen alongside them—may not show a Buy button. Google plans broader availability later in October, ahead of festive shopping, but has not explained the technology or commercial arrangement behind the flow.
Google’s April description of shopping in India focused on listings, comparisons, prices, reviews and retailer links; this test adds a checkout step.
Google named Flipkart an AI-shopping merchant in September; its 2024 $350 million minority investment in Walmart-owned Flipkart does not establish why checkout appears.
A Google spokesperson confirmed the company regularly tests ways to connect people with businesses but gave no details about this experiment.
A shopper using Google’s AI tools in India can now, in some cases, choose a Flipkart product and reach checkout without leaving the interface. Some Flipkart listings in Gemini and AI Mode show a Buy button that opens a Flipkart-branded checkout flow, according to an experience seen by TechCrunch. The test puts a purchase step where Google already helps people compare products.
Google’s AI shopping tools could already help people decide what to buy. In its April description of shopping in India, Google said Gemini displayed product listings, comparison tables, prices from across the web and places to buy. AI Mode in Search could show product images alongside prices, reviews and inventory information. Those features helped shoppers research a purchase; this test adds a direct route from a selected listing to checkout.
The distinction is where the shopper goes after making a choice. Tapping Buy in this test brings up a Flipkart-branded checkout flow while the user remains in Gemini or AI Mode. That is different from merely seeing a price or a link to a store. It also differs visibly from the Google-hosted checkout experience Google had previously demonstrated for eligible products in its AI services.
The visible checkout screen does not explain the system behind it. Google has described a commerce standard meant to help AI services connect with retailers through steps including checkout, and later added a way to send items to a retailer’s site for purchase. Which technology powers the Flipkart test remains unclear. Its Flipkart branding identifies what shoppers see, not the underlying arrangement.
The experiment reaches some users and a small selection of products, including smartphones, electronics and mobile accessories. Others still see Flipkart listings without a direct Buy option. The button’s absence, then, does not mean a product is absent from Google’s shopping results. It means that shopper cannot use this purchase path for that listing.
Google and Flipkart have ties beyond this checkout test. Earlier in September, Google named Flipkart among merchants working with it on AI-assisted shopping in India, without detailing this experience. Google also invested about $350 million in Walmart-owned Flipkart in 2024, taking a minority stake. Those connections provide context for the test; they do not establish why this particular Buy button appears on Flipkart listings.
Google plans to make the experience more widely available later in October, ahead of India’s festive shopping season, one person familiar with the matter told TechCrunch. A Google spokesperson described the company as regularly testing ways to help people find and connect with businesses, but offered no further details about this experiment.
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