AI-powered conversational cloud, Gupshup, has launched the first conversational buyer app on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The company claims to have built a conversational commerce experience with AI-powered natural language interactions, which can interact in any language, over text and voice. 

The platform aims to enable buyers to use a WhatsApp-based conversational UI to discover, browse, and buy products from sellers across the ONDC network, without having to download any other mobile app.  

Messaging apps play a huge role in a diverse population such as India and, therefore, using a messaging platform becomes the only way to transform digital commerce in India, said Beerud Sheth, CEO, Gupshup. 

“Despite massive engagement on online commercial platforms, only 30 per cent of users (approximately 200 million) shop online. Furthermore, 65 per cent of tech digital users find app downloads frustrating, and 40 per cent abandon a purchase if pushed to install apps. This AI-powered platform aims to solve this problem,” added Sheth. 

Currently, the buyer app is in Beta and will have limited availability. Customers will be able to share their location over chat, browse sellers close to them, order food, and make payments right from WhatsApp. 

Additionally. Gupshup is planning to soon offer enterprises the chance to use this conversational commerce feature in their chatbots.  

Enabling users to engage with customers across commerce, marketing, and support use-cases on multiple channels, Gupshup serves in the B2B, SaaS space in the high-tech market segments. The messaging API has raised $486 million over eight rounds. Its latest funding round was a Series F round on May 20, 2022, for $100 million.  

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