In a significant move that could transform how people shop and pay online, ChatGPT is all set to enter the Indian payments space. Although it’s a pilot program being launched that allows users to make payments directly through ChatGPT using India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
This collaboration involves OpenAI, fintech platform Razorpay, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), with support from partner banks and merchants.
What Is This New Feature?
The idea behind this pilot is to let ChatGPT not only help users find products or services but also allow them to complete transactions within the same conversation. Instead of jumping between websites or apps, users can now ask ChatGPT to find an item and pay for it all in one place.
This is a part of a growing trend known as agentic AI, where artificial intelligence doesn’t just provide information, but actually takes action on behalf of users, like making payments or bookings.
How Will It Work?
This feature has enhanced AI-powered transactions, the pilot will use UPI’s “UPI Reserve” feature. This system allows users to reserve a certain amount of money with a merchant, which can later be used to complete the purchase. It adds a layer of security and control, giving users confidence in letting an AI handle payments.
Partner banks such as Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank are involved in this project, and Bigbasket, a popular online grocery store, is one of the first merchants to take part.
Why India Is the Ideal Testing Ground?
India has one of the most advanced digital payment ecosystems in the world, with UPI being widely accepted and used for everyday transactions. This makes India a perfect place to test how AI can integrate with real-time payments.
With this pilot, OpenAI and its partners aim to explore how users interact with AI for more than just information they want to see if people are ready to let AI complete tasks like shopping and payments too.
What’s Next for Users?
If this pilot programme succeeds, users in India could soon experience a much simpler online shopping process. ChatGPT might become more than just a chatbot for people it could turn into a personal shopping assistant, handling everything from finding a product to making the payment.
This marks a new step in how artificial intelligence could become a regular part of people’s daily lives.