Google's 2024 investment in Flipkart: About $350 million (Source: TechCrunch, reporting on Google's minority stake in Flipkart)
Google has started testing a way for shoppers in India to buy from Walmart-owned Flipkart directly inside Gemini and AI Mode. The test moves Google's AI services from product discovery into transactions, TechCrunch reported. For organisations that sell online, it shows one large search platform placing the purchase step inside its own AI interface.
What the test involves
Users in the test see a "Buy" button on select Flipkart product listings in Gemini and AI Mode. Tapping it opens a Flipkart checkout flow without leaving the AI interface, according to people familiar with the matter and an experience seen by TechCrunch. The test is limited to some users and a small selection of products, including smartphones, electronics and mobile accessories. Other users continue to see regular Flipkart listings, without the option to buy from the AI interface.
One of TechCrunch's sources said Google plans a broader rollout later in October, ahead of India's festive shopping season. Google told TechCrunch that it regularly runs experiments and had no further details to share.
What is not yet clear
TechCrunch reported that it is not clear what technology powers the test. The Flipkart-branded checkout appears different from the Google-hosted checkout that Google demonstrated earlier. Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) earlier this year as an open standard designed to let AI agents interact with retailers across the shopping journey, including checkout. Google has since expanded UCP with other capabilities, including allowing shoppers to transfer items to a retailer's site to complete a purchase. Flipkart did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.
Two features of the test limit what it can show. First, Google has a financial relationship with Flipkart alongside its technology partnership. It took a minority stake in a 2024 funding round led by Walmart. Second, the Buy option does not appear across all retailers. In the experience TechCrunch saw, Amazon listings appeared next to Flipkart's but did not offer purchase inside the AI interface. This is one merchant in one market. It is a single data point, not a measured trend.
Questions for the next budget review
1. Which of our product listings already appear in AI shopping interfaces, and do we know which of them can now lead to a purchase without a visit to our own site?
2. Where do orders that start in an AI interface appear in our analytics and attribution today? Who holds the customer record when checkout is branded to us but launched from someone else's product?
3. Has anyone compared Google's UCP documentation with our checkout and catalogue systems, and what would supporting it cost in engineering time?
4. Which fraud, payment and returns controls assume the customer arrived through our own site?
