FIDE Unveils BecknGPT: AI Agent Revolutionising E-commerce With Interoperability
The Foundation for Interoperability in Digital Economy (FIDE), known for powering e-commerce networks such as the government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), has introduced an innovative AI agent named Beckn Generative Pre-Trained Transformer or BecknGPT.
This cutting-edge, open-source demonstration app, built over Open AI’s ChatGPT, is designed to handle commercial transactions seamlessly on behalf of users. BecknGPT can execute a wide array of tasks including ordering groceries, booking travel tickets, purchasing books online, and even locating electric vehicle charging stations.
“The combination of Beckn protocol and AI can unlock a whole new world of possibilities,” said Sujith Nair, co-creator of the Beckn Protocol. “An AI and Beckn-aware open network digital public infrastructure can accelerate innovations that remove the friction of digital access and natural language barriers, making e-commerce democratic and accessible to a wider population including small businesses.”
Ravi Prakash, co-creator of the Beckn Protocol, and Mayur Virendra, head of technology strategy and innovation at FIDE, at a recent community, meetup showcased how BecknGPT can perform complete e-commerce transactions from initiation to execution within an open network.
Demonstrating its interoperability, the AI agent can seamlessly switch between various open networks, such as from a retail network to an open energy network, thanks to Beckn’s inherent interoperability.
During the Beckn Bengaluru Meetup 1.0, Virendra demonstrated BecknGPT by querying for personal finance books in the chatbot. The AI agent interacted with the interface found book options, and facilitated a cash-on-delivery order upon selection.
Similarly, a query for EV charging stations produced a list of nearby options. This demonstration emphasized the potential for Beckn and AI integration to facilitate diverse e-commerce activities across different networks.
“This initiative by FIDE and the Beckn Open Collective aims to inspire developers to explore numerous possibilities with Beckn and AI,” Nair added. “Networks can be based on healthcare, retail, agriculture, EV charging, or education, but a single AI agent acting as a buyer app can automatically identify the appropriate network.”
According to the report, Prakash explained that for the demo, FIDE created a dummy network simulating ONDC. “BecknGPT operates like a buyer app on ONDC,” he said, comparing it to existing apps like Paytm, pincode, and magicpin, which serve as customer-facing buyer apps on ONDC. The AI agent is configured to understand Beckn, allowing it to search for products across multiple seller platforms on Beckn Protocol networks like ONDC and the Unified Energy Interface.
This demonstration underscores the potential for developers to build on this unique AI assistant, which can traverse multiple networks and search through extensive product catalogues, revolutionising the future of e-commerce.
