PayU has announced the launch of Agent HQ, an AI agent store for Indian small and medium-sized business (SMB) merchants. It allows merchants to choose and deploy AI agents for different jobs across commerce, including making their businesses discoverable to AI shopping agents, driving sales, simplifying payment-related operations, and creating custom AI assistants.
PayU said industry reports suggest that about 50% of search traffic is shifting to AI agents, while AI-referred shoppers can convert up to three times better. PayU built Agent HQ on more than a decade of commerce intelligence generated across its platform, which powers 4.5 lakh+ merchants and the journeys of 700+ million shoppers, and has processed ₹7,800 billion in transaction volume.
Growth and business operations
Merchants can use Agent HQ for growth, business operations, or both. For growth, they can make their products, services, and businesses discoverable and transactable on AI platforms such as Claude and ChatGPT, as well as channels such as WhatsApp.
They can also create custom conversational AI assistants for their websites, apps, and customer journeys. These assistants can:
- Provide real-time assistance to shoppers
- Respond to post-purchase queries
For business operations, merchants can choose AI agents to automate tasks such as:
- Transaction follow-ups
- Chargeback reconciliations
- Refund escalations
- Settlements
The agents can also use merchant transaction data, including payment success and failure patterns, chargeback histories, settlement cycles, and shopper behaviour, to suggest targeted campaigns across sales, marketing, and other functions. PayU said this can help merchants manage fraud and disputes more proactively, reduce operational effort, and protect revenue.
No-code setup
Agent HQ is a no-code AI agent storefront built into the PayU merchant dashboard. Unlike standalone tools that require merchants to connect data sources, configure workflows, or build integrations, it allows merchants to hire an AI agent in a few clicks.
The workflow includes:
- Choosing an AI agent
- Selecting how frequently it runs
- Monitoring its activity through the dashboard
- Receiving outputs through email and WhatsApp
PayU said no agent acts beyond the boundaries and limits defined by merchants. Policybazaar, Daily Objects, Pinq Polka, and many other PayU merchants are already using Agent HQ.
Speaking on the launch, Manas Mishra, Chief Product Officer, PayU & Wibmo, said:
As a merchant aggregator, PayU has been supporting merchants not just to collect payments but to grow their businesses through its value-added solutions. PayU Agent HQ builds on that foundation and expands on our value-added offerings for SMB merchants. By putting a personalized team of AI agents to work across the business – from improving discoverability and driving growth to managing chargebacks, reconciliations, refunds, settlements, etc. – we want to put control back in merchants’ hands, enabling them to focus on their growth. Agent HQ is one of our biggest bets in that direction.