ONDC to get Google's generative AI booster dose in India

Google's Gen AI will vastly improve the services on ONDC and also further widen the reach of e-commerce services to the remotest corners of India.

Last month, the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI) reported that the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) platform recorded a new milestone of 1000 crore monthly digital cash transactions for the first time since its launch in 2016.

As NCPI sets a new target of 100 crore daily transactions, another indigenous-developed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), which is just over a year old, is bringing a new revolution in the e-commerce segment.

As it competes with giants such as Amazon, Walmart's Flipkart, Zomato, and Swiggy, ONDC is all set to get the booster dose of Google's generative AI (AI).

ONDC offers a free platform for buyers and sellers to get a wide range of products ranging from fashion apparel to consumers and handicraft items to food delivery.

However, for now, ONDC is operable in limited cities and towns, while most of the rural areas are deprived of such services and also it requires people, both the sellers and the buyers, to be tech-savvy.

Now, the ONDC app will soon be infused with Google Cloud's gen AI to simplify the user interface for both sellers and buyers.

Google showed the demo at the Born Digital Summit on Wednesday (September 6) in Bengaluru.

Google shows demo of generative AI tech that can further improve user experience on ONDC platform in India

The gen AI-powered ONDC app was able to allow Kanchipuram saree seller Jyothi to easily upload a photo of the product and the platform was able to instantly suggest smart attributes based on what most buyers look for in saree. And, users can add their own words to further elaborate their product for easy understanding.

Also, it allowed users to add descriptions in their own preferred language and it can be translated to other languages instantly, so buyers in other regions are able to know what are the features of the saree are and make an informed decision to buy it.

In the demo, the seller added details in Tamil and the buyer Ramesh from Kanpur was able to view the product description in his own preferred language Hindi.

What's more interesting is that Ramesh was able to find the product and make the purchase with Hindi voice commands.

There is no official word on when ONDC will onboard Google Cloud's gen AI tech, but certainly greatly improve the user experience for both buyers and sellers, and also further widen the reach of e-commerce service to the remotest corners of the country.

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