India is taking a significant leap into the future of digital payments with the launch of an AI-powered payment pilot program integrated directly into ChatGPT. This initiative, a collaboration between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), fintech innovator Razorpay, and OpenAI, aims to revolutionize e-commerce by enabling users to shop and complete transactions seamlessly within the popular AI chatbot.
The core of this pilot program is the integration of India's Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with ChatGPT's conversational AI technology. UPI, the backbone of India's digital payment revolution, processes billions of transactions monthly. This integration allows users to browse products, place orders, and authorize payments without ever leaving the ChatGPT interface. This streamlined, AI-driven shopping experience is facilitated by UPI Reserve Pay and UPI Circle technologies, which allow users to reserve funds and confirm transactions through secure multi-factor authentication within the chatbot.
According to a joint statement from the companies, the pilot program seeks to explore how UPI can empower AI agents to "autonomously complete transactions on behalf of users in a safe, secure, and user-controlled manner". Oliver Jay, Managing Director of International Strategy at OpenAI, emphasized the significance of blending AI with UPI, describing it as “unlocking a new era of effortless and secure commerce”.
Several key players are participating in this initial phase. Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank are onboard as banking partners, while Bigbasket, the Tata Group-owned e-commerce platform, is among the first merchants to offer shopping directly via ChatGPT. For example, a user could ask ChatGPT to order ingredients for a specific recipe from Bigbasket. The AI agent would then check Bigbasket's catalog, suggest suitable product options, and, upon user confirmation, complete the order using Razorpay's payment system.
This initiative reflects the commitment of the government and industry to fostering innovation and inclusivity in the digital payments space. The pilot program also aligns with global trends, as tech giants like Google and Anthropic explore integrating AI in e-commerce and payment services. India's early adoption of AI-powered payments positions it as a potential leader in this emerging field.
The pilot program leverages UPI's trusted infrastructure to revolutionize the e-commerce payment experience and further increase digital payment adoption across India. Throughout the process, users maintain complete control with real-time tracking and the ability to revoke actions instantly, ensuring a secure, transparent, and user-focused experience.
If the pilot program proves successful, it could pave the way for an expanded merchant network, with more e-commerce platforms and service providers integrating directly into AI interfaces. It could also lead to personalized finance agents, AI that remembers user preferences, recurring orders, and even budgeting constraints. In the long term, this technology could extend beyond ChatGPT to become a standard feature in voice assistants, messaging apps, and IoT devices, creating new commerce models characterized by conversational, intent-driven shopping where the line between discovery and purchase disappears.
