Google is testing two ways for its AI tools to handle tasks that usually require a person to search, click, call, and wait. In India, some users can buy selected Flipkart products through Gemini and Google’s AI Mode. In the United States, Google is testing a feature that lets Gemini call businesses for users.
The shopping test arrived on September 26, 2026, one day after Google announced its “Call for Me” experiment. Together, the features show Google moving its AI tools beyond answering questions and toward completing practical tasks on a user’s behalf.
Gemini brings Flipkart products into the shopping process
In the India test, users see a “Buy” button on selected Flipkart product listings inside Gemini and Google’s AI Mode. Tapping the button opens a Flipkart-branded checkout flow, allowing the shopper to continue the purchase on Flipkart’s site.
The early test reaches only some users and covers a small selection of products. The available items include smartphones, electronics, and mobile accessories. Google plans to roll out the experience more broadly later in October.
The Flipkart experience appears different from a Google-hosted checkout. Instead of keeping the entire transaction inside Google’s own interface, the test sends shoppers into a checkout flow branded by Flipkart. That distinction matters because the shopping process still connects discovery in Gemini or AI Mode with purchasing on the retailer’s site.
Flipkart is owned by Walmart, and Google has a financial relationship with the e-commerce company. Google invested about $350 million in Flipkart in 2024 as part of a funding round led by the U.S. retailer.
Google spokesperson said the company is “always testing new features and experiences to help people discover and connect with businesses more easily.” The Flipkart test puts that idea into a familiar setting: a shopper finds a product through an AI tool and then moves toward checkout with a single button.
Universal Commerce Protocol gives AI agents a path to checkout
Google has also introduced the Universal Commerce Protocol, or UCP, as an open standard for AI agents and retailers. The protocol is designed to let AI agents interact with retailers across the shopping journey, including checkout.
Google expanded UCP with capabilities that let shoppers transfer items to a retailer’s site to complete a purchase. That function matches the structure of the Flipkart test, where the product appears in Gemini or AI Mode but the user reaches a Flipkart-branded checkout flow after tapping “Buy.”
For shoppers, the important change is not only where a product appears. It is the connection between product discovery and the next action. Gemini can present a selected listing, while the retailer’s site handles the purchase. The test shows one way Google’s open standard can connect those steps without requiring the full transaction to stay inside Google.
Call for Me lets Gemini handle business calls
Google announced its “Call for Me” test on September 24, 2026. The feature allows Gemini to call businesses on a user’s behalf, starting with Pixel 11 owners in the United States who pay for a Gemini subscription.
Users must also use the beta version of Google’s Phone app for Android. The experiment will start at a small scale so Google can refine the feature before a broader rollout.
Call for Me can handle tasks such as asking whether a product is in stock, making restaurant reservations, moving scheduled appointments, or placing items on hold. The AI can call a business, introduce itself, navigate automated menus, wait on hold, and handle the conversation.
Users can follow the call as it happens and take over at any time. The calls use the user’s own personal phone number and are dialed directly from the user’s phone, keeping the person connected to the conversation rather than hiding the call behind a separate number.
Google has demonstrated AI-assisted calling before, including a demonstration at its I/O developer conference. Last year, the company rolled out “Ask for Me,” which lets Gemini call businesses to ask about pricing or services. People with Pixel smartphones have also had access to features such as “Hold for Me,” “Talk to a Live Rep,” and “Direct My Call.”
Google’s new test enters a space that also includes Meta, whose AI agents such as Muse and Instinct are capable of making calls. That makes the small-scale rollout important: Google is testing how an AI caller should handle real conversations, while still giving users a way to monitor the call and step in.
Both experiments point to the same direction. Gemini is being tested not just as a tool for finding information, but as a system that can move from a request to an action. In India, that action may be starting a Flipkart purchase. For eligible Pixel 11 owners in the United States, it may be calling a business, waiting through the menu, and finishing a simple task.
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