ChatGPT has begun testing UPI-based payment integration in India through a pilot with online grocery platform BigBasket. The move allows users to make purchases directly through ChatGPT’s interface, marking one of the first instances of conversational AI being linked to India’s widely used UPI infrastructure.
This pilot aims to simplify online transactions by letting users interact naturally with the AI and pay seamlessly for goods and services without leaving the chat environment. UPI, or Unified Payments Interface, is India’s instant real-time payment system that enables interbank transactions and has become a standard for digital payments across the country.
By integrating UPI payments, ChatGPT extends its functionality beyond information and conversation, enabling practical applications in daily commerce. Analysts note that this could set a precedent for AI-powered conversational commerce in India, where UPI has already become a dominant payment method for millions of users. The pilot also reflects a growing trend of combining generative AI and fintech capabilities to streamline user experiences.
While currently limited to BigBasket users, OpenAI plans to gather insights from this pilot to potentially expand UPI-enabled AI commerce across other platforms in the future, offering a glimpse of how AI could transform routine transactions in India.
