NPCI, Anthropic test AI-driven shopping pilot using UPI payments
Once live, the service is expected to allow users to shop for groceries and other food items from leading marketplaces such as BigBasket, Zomato, and Swiggy Instamart without leaving the chat interface
- Feb 18, 2026,
- Updated Feb 18, 2026 3:48 PM IST
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and artificial intelligence firm Anthropic are testing a pilot that allows users to order groceries and food through the Claude AI application and pay using the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to Sohini Rajola, Executive Director-Growth at NPCI.
The pilot, described as an agentic commerce initiative, enables users to delegate purchasing tasks to the AI assistant, which can place orders and complete payments seamlessly through UPI-integrated systems.
At present, the programme is being run as a closed user group (CUG) to test the full stack experience before a broader public rollout.
Once live, the service is expected to allow users to shop for groceries and food from leading marketplaces such as BigBasket, Zomato and Swiggy Instamart without leaving the chat interface.
Users can set a prescribed payment limit and delegate the AI agent to make transactions of up to Rs. 15,000.
India’s UPI network, operated by NPCI, processes billions of transactions each month and has become the backbone of the country’s digital payments ecosystem.
Speaking to Business Today, NPCI Executive Director–Growth Sohini Rajola said the Claude pilot builds on earlier collaborations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, where conversational interfaces were linked to UPI for use cases such as payments, balance checks and intent-led commerce journeys.
The Anthropic engagement extends that effort to full end-to-end fulfilment, combining product discovery, order placement and real-time payments within a single AI workflow.
Details on the scale of the pilot, participating merchants and timeline for a wider rollout were not immediately available.
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The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and artificial intelligence firm Anthropic are testing a pilot that allows users to order groceries and food through the Claude AI application and pay using the country’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to Sohini Rajola, Executive Director-Growth at NPCI.
The pilot, described as an agentic commerce initiative, enables users to delegate purchasing tasks to the AI assistant, which can place orders and complete payments seamlessly through UPI-integrated systems.
At present, the programme is being run as a closed user group (CUG) to test the full stack experience before a broader public rollout.
Once live, the service is expected to allow users to shop for groceries and food from leading marketplaces such as BigBasket, Zomato and Swiggy Instamart without leaving the chat interface.
Users can set a prescribed payment limit and delegate the AI agent to make transactions of up to Rs. 15,000.
India’s UPI network, operated by NPCI, processes billions of transactions each month and has become the backbone of the country’s digital payments ecosystem.
Speaking to Business Today, NPCI Executive Director–Growth Sohini Rajola said the Claude pilot builds on earlier collaborations with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, where conversational interfaces were linked to UPI for use cases such as payments, balance checks and intent-led commerce journeys.
The Anthropic engagement extends that effort to full end-to-end fulfilment, combining product discovery, order placement and real-time payments within a single AI workflow.
Details on the scale of the pilot, participating merchants and timeline for a wider rollout were not immediately available.
For Unparalleled coverage of India's Businesses and Economy – Subscribe to Business Today Magazine