India is launching a pilot allowing consumers to pay for products directly through AI chatbots using its government-backed Unified Payments Interface, the country’s popular instant payment platform, TechCrunch reported. The tooling will first become available through ChatGPT, and later via Gemini and Claude. The move follows a similar announcement for ChatGPT payments in the US but marks the first government-backed initiative of chatbot transactions in the world. It makes India a global test case for chatbot commerce, offering a model of what could come in other major markets.
Bengaluru-based fintech firm Razorpay developed the integration for merchant participants, which so far includes online grocer BigBasket and telecom company Vi. OpenAI won’t earn a share of the sales, but the capability could boost stickiness in one of the top consumer markets.