Walmart Tests AI-Powered Shopping with Google Through Flipkart

Walmart is testing a new AI-powered shopping experience with Google through Flipkart, the India-based e-commerce platform it owns. As part of the pilot, selected users can move Flipkart products they view within Gemini and Google AI Mode into the purchasing process without leaving the platform. The test stands out as one of the new steps toward moving the e-commerce journey, from product discovery to payment, into AI-powered tools.

“Buy” Button on Walmart-Backed Flipkart Products

Users included in the test are shown a “Buy” button on certain Flipkart products displayed in Gemini and AI Mode. When the button is clicked, the user is directed to a Flipkart-branded checkout process without leaving the AI interface. The pilot is currently being carried out with a limited number of users and a narrow range of products, including smartphones, electronics, and mobile accessories.

It is stated that Google plans to open the experience to a wider user base during October. The expansion is targeted to take place ahead of India’s busy festival shopping season. From Walmart’s perspective, the test adds a new AI-powered shopping channel to its omnichannel retail structure that brings together physical stores and digital platforms.

AI Moves from Product Discovery to Purchasing

A Google spokesperson stated that the company is continuously testing new features and experiences that will help people discover businesses more easily and connect with them. The company did not share additional details regarding the technical infrastructure of the Flipkart test.

Google had previously announced an open standard called the “Universal Commerce Protocol,” which enables AI agents to interact with retailers from product discovery through the payment process. In the current Flipkart test, however, Flipkart’s own checkout flow is used instead of a Google-hosted payment screen.

A New Step in Walmart’s India E-Commerce Operations

Flipkart, which is owned by Walmart, is in intense competition with Amazon in India. Google’s approximately $350 million investment in Flipkart in 2024, through which it acquired a minority stake in the company, had also strengthened the commercial and technological relationship between the two companies. With more than one billion internet subscribers and a growing digital retail market, India is becoming one of the key markets where AI-powered e-commerce applications are being tested.

The pilot being carried out by Walmart and Google has become one of the latest examples of efforts to move artificial intelligence in retail beyond being merely a product recommendation tool and make it part of direct purchasing transactions.