Now Shop Directly on ChatGPT Using UPI: NPCI, Razorpay, and OpenAI Launch AI-Powered Payment Pilot

In a groundbreaking step toward merging artificial intelligence with digital payments, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has teamed up with OpenAI and Razorpay to launch a pilot project that allows users to make purchases through ChatGPT using India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI).

This marks a major leap in how online shopping and conversational AI can work together — making buying as easy as chatting. Although currently limited to a pilot phase, the project aims to provide users with a seamless, secure, and automated shopping experience through ChatGPT.

How the ChatGPT UPI Shopping Feature Works

Through this pilot initiative, users can directly shop via ChatGPT by simply interacting with the AI. Once an order is placed, payments can be completed instantly through UPI — India’s fastest and most widely used payment system.

According to reports from Reuters, major financial players such as Axis Bank and Airtel Payments Bank are partners in this project. During the pilot phase, users can place orders on popular e-commerce platforms like Tata Group’s BigBasket, enabling instant purchases without switching apps or entering payment details manually.

Objective of the Pilot Project

The main aim behind this initiative is to explore how AI can be effectively integrated with UPI to deliver secure, smooth, and automated transactions. Speaking about the collaboration, Oliver Jay, OpenAI’s International Strategy Director, said,

“We are thrilled to collaborate with NPCI to integrate AI with the world’s most trusted payment network, UPI. This partnership represents the beginning of a new era of simple and secure commerce.”

The pilot will help assess how conversational AI can handle end-to-end payment interactions — from browsing products and confirming orders to making instant, verified payments through biometric or PIN-based authentication.

UPI’s Expanding Ecosystem

UPI continues to dominate India’s digital payment landscape, handling over 20 billion transactions every month. With AI now entering this ecosystem, NPCI’s goal is to make digital payments not only faster but smarter.

The integration with ChatGPT opens new possibilities for AI-driven commerce — especially in sectors such as retail, grocery, and financial services — where users increasingly prefer conversational experiences over traditional app-based navigation.

NPCI’s Recent Innovations at Global Fintech Fest 2025

The announcement comes shortly after NPCI unveiled a series of tech-driven initiatives at the Global Fintech Fest 2025 in Mumbai. Among them were:

• AI-based UPI Help powered by Small Language Models (SLMs) to assist users with payments, mandates, and dispute resolutions.

• UPI Reserve Pay, a new feature enabling users to securely manage credit limits for specific purposes.

• IoT Payments, allowing users to make payments directly through connected devices like smart TVs, cars, and wearables.

Each of these innovations highlights NPCI’s commitment to making digital transactions faster, safer, and more intelligent.

The Future of AI-Powered Commerce

The ChatGPT-UPI pilot symbolizes the next phase of fintech evolution — where conversational AI doesn’t just provide information but facilitates action. By combining the convenience of ChatGPT’s natural dialogue with the reliability of UPI payments, users may soon be able to complete their shopping journeys entirely within a chat interface.

If successful, this pilot could pave the way for AI-integrated commerce platforms across India, empowering both consumers and businesses with an intuitive, voice-and-chat-based payment experience.