Google is testing a Buy button that lets you shop without leaving Gemini

Google wants Gemini to do more than recommend what to buy. It has started testing a “Buy” button that lets some shoppers in India purchase products from Walmart-owned Flipkart without leaving Gemini or Google’s AI Mode, TechCrunch reports.

How the test works

Users in the test see a “Buy” button on selected Flipkart listings in Gemini and AI Mode. Tapping it opens a Flipkart-branded checkout inside the AI interface, according to people familiar with the matter and an experience TechCrunch saw.

For now it’s small. Only some users get it, and only for a limited range of products, including smartphones, electronics and mobile accessories. Everyone else still sees ordinary Flipkart listings without the option to buy directly. But Google plans to roll it out more widely later in October, one person told TechCrunch, in time for India’s festive shopping season, the busiest time of year for online retailers.

Google didn’t confirm the details. A spokesperson said the company is “always testing new features and experiences to help people discover and connect with businesses more easily,” and had nothing more to share.

From answers to checkout

The test is part of a wider push by Google and rivals like OpenAI to turn AI assistants from shopping advisers into places where purchases actually happen. Earlier this year, Google introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol, an open standard meant to let AI agents deal with retailers all the way through checkout, and said shoppers would be able to buy eligible products in Gemini and AI Mode through a Google-hosted checkout.

The Flipkart test looks different, TechCrunch notes: it uses Flipkart’s own branded checkout rather than Google’s, and it isn’t clear what technology powers it. Google said earlier this month that Flipkart was among the merchants working with it on “agentic” shopping in India, but it hadn’t announced a test or timeline.

It’s the latest example of Google’s AI taking actions for users rather than just answering questions, after Gemini started phoning businesses on Pixel users’ behalf this week.

A friendly partner

Flipkart isn’t a random choice. Google took a minority stake in the company in 2024, investing about $350 million in a funding round led by Walmart. And India is a big prize: it’s the world’s second-largest internet market, with more than a billion internet subscribers, and Flipkart and Amazon fight fiercely for its online shoppers.

Why it matters

If people start buying inside Gemini, Google gets to sit between shoppers and retailers at the moment money changes hands, not just when they search. Starting in India with a partner it partly owns, just before the biggest shopping weeks of the year, gives Google a large, low-risk place to test whether people will trust an AI to check out for them.

Sources: TechCrunch.