PayU enables Indian merchants to sell through ChatGPT, Claude, WhatsApp with new AI agent platform
PayU has launched Agent HQ, an AI agent platform that enables Indian SMBs to make their products discoverable and transactable through AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude, as well as WhatsApp. The platform marks PayU’s push into AI-native commerce, allowing merchants to use AI agents for customer engagement, sales and payment-related operations without coding or integrations.
- Sep 11, 2026,
- Updated Sep 11, 2026 2:23 PM IST
PayU has launched an AI agent platform aimed at helping Indian small and medium businesses make their products discoverable and transactable across emerging AI-led shopping channels, including ChatGPT and Claude, as well as WhatsApp.
Called Agent HQ, the platform allows merchants to select and deploy AI agents for different commerce and payment-related tasks without requiring coding or additional integrations. The move comes as generative AI increasingly changes how consumers search for products, compare options and make purchase decisions.
Making SMBs discoverable in AI-led shopping
PayU said industry reports indicate that around half of search traffic is shifting towards AI agents, while shoppers referred by AI can have conversion rates as much as three times higher. The company said Agent HQ is designed to help SMBs participate in this emerging form of commerce rather than remain dependent on traditional search and digital marketing channels.
Through the platform, merchants can make their products and services discoverable and transactable on AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude. Agent HQ also supports commerce journeys through WhatsApp, allowing businesses to engage with customers through a channel already widely used for consumer communication.
MUST READ: The backbone of AI is data...: Gurnani says India can leverage its biggest AI advantage
This could mark a shift in how smaller businesses approach digital discovery, as AI assistants increasingly become an interface through which consumers find and evaluate products.
Merchants can build their own AI assistants
Agent HQ also allows merchants to create custom conversational AI assistants. These assistants can be deployed across websites, applications and customer journeys to answer shoppers’ questions in real time and handle post-purchase queries.
The customer-facing agents are part of a wider set of tools aimed at automating merchant operations, rather than being limited to product discovery and sales.
AI agents take on merchant operations
Agents on the platform can be deployed for tasks including transaction follow-ups, chargeback reconciliation, refund escalations and settlement-related activities. Merchants can select an agent based on their requirements, specify how frequently it should run and monitor its activity through the PayU dashboard.
PayU said the agents can also analyse merchant transaction data to identify potential growth opportunities. Payment success and failure patterns, chargeback history, settlement cycles and shopper behaviour can be used to generate recommendations for targeted sales and marketing campaigns.
ALSO READ: Treat data as a fiduciary responsibility, not as a business asset: RBI Governor Malhotra to fintechs
No-code model removes integration requirement
The platform follows a no-code, zero-integration model, with Agent HQ built into PayU’s existing merchant dashboard. Merchants can activate an AI agent in a few clicks, determine its operating frequency and receive outputs through email and WhatsApp.
PayU said merchants retain control over the tasks and boundaries within which individual agents operate, limiting the actions an agent can take on their behalf.
Beyond payment infrastructure
The platform builds on PayU’s existing merchant network. The company serves more than 4.5 lakh merchants, has supported the journeys of over 700 million shoppers and has processed transaction volumes of about Rs 7,800 billion.
Policybazaar, Daily Objects and Pinq Polka are among the merchants already using Agent HQ, PayU said.
The launch represents a broader expansion of PayU’s role from payment infrastructure towards AI-enabled merchant services. As shopping discovery moves from conventional search towards conversational interfaces and autonomous shopping agents, access to these channels could become an increasingly important part of how SMBs compete for digital consumers.
DO READ: AI becomes new battleground for payment gateways, finds Zoho survey
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PayU has launched an AI agent platform aimed at helping Indian small and medium businesses make their products discoverable and transactable across emerging AI-led shopping channels, including ChatGPT and Claude, as well as WhatsApp.
Called Agent HQ, the platform allows merchants to select and deploy AI agents for different commerce and payment-related tasks without requiring coding or additional integrations. The move comes as generative AI increasingly changes how consumers search for products, compare options and make purchase decisions.
Making SMBs discoverable in AI-led shopping
PayU said industry reports indicate that around half of search traffic is shifting towards AI agents, while shoppers referred by AI can have conversion rates as much as three times higher. The company said Agent HQ is designed to help SMBs participate in this emerging form of commerce rather than remain dependent on traditional search and digital marketing channels.
Through the platform, merchants can make their products and services discoverable and transactable on AI platforms such as ChatGPT and Claude. Agent HQ also supports commerce journeys through WhatsApp, allowing businesses to engage with customers through a channel already widely used for consumer communication.
MUST READ: The backbone of AI is data...: Gurnani says India can leverage its biggest AI advantage
This could mark a shift in how smaller businesses approach digital discovery, as AI assistants increasingly become an interface through which consumers find and evaluate products.
Merchants can build their own AI assistants
Agent HQ also allows merchants to create custom conversational AI assistants. These assistants can be deployed across websites, applications and customer journeys to answer shoppers’ questions in real time and handle post-purchase queries.
The customer-facing agents are part of a wider set of tools aimed at automating merchant operations, rather than being limited to product discovery and sales.
AI agents take on merchant operations
Agents on the platform can be deployed for tasks including transaction follow-ups, chargeback reconciliation, refund escalations and settlement-related activities. Merchants can select an agent based on their requirements, specify how frequently it should run and monitor its activity through the PayU dashboard.
PayU said the agents can also analyse merchant transaction data to identify potential growth opportunities. Payment success and failure patterns, chargeback history, settlement cycles and shopper behaviour can be used to generate recommendations for targeted sales and marketing campaigns.
ALSO READ: Treat data as a fiduciary responsibility, not as a business asset: RBI Governor Malhotra to fintechs
No-code model removes integration requirement
The platform follows a no-code, zero-integration model, with Agent HQ built into PayU’s existing merchant dashboard. Merchants can activate an AI agent in a few clicks, determine its operating frequency and receive outputs through email and WhatsApp.
PayU said merchants retain control over the tasks and boundaries within which individual agents operate, limiting the actions an agent can take on their behalf.
Beyond payment infrastructure
The platform builds on PayU’s existing merchant network. The company serves more than 4.5 lakh merchants, has supported the journeys of over 700 million shoppers and has processed transaction volumes of about Rs 7,800 billion.
Policybazaar, Daily Objects and Pinq Polka are among the merchants already using Agent HQ, PayU said.
The launch represents a broader expansion of PayU’s role from payment infrastructure towards AI-enabled merchant services. As shopping discovery moves from conventional search towards conversational interfaces and autonomous shopping agents, access to these channels could become an increasingly important part of how SMBs compete for digital consumers.
DO READ: AI becomes new battleground for payment gateways, finds Zoho survey
For Unparalleled coverage of India's Businesses and Economy – Subscribe to Business Today Magazine