You Can Now Make Direct Purchases Through ChatGPT

OpenAI has moved into online shopping with a new feature inside ChatGPT called Instant Checkout. The tooL allows people in the United States to buy items directly from Etsy sellers without leaving the chat. The company said it will also bring in Shopify merchants such as Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx and Vuori in the coming months.

More than 700 million people already use ChatGPT weekly, according to OpenAI, mostly to help with everyday tasks such as finding products. The new checkout system means people can now move from browsing to buying in a few taps. At launch, the feature only works for single purchases, but the company said multi-item baskets will follow.

The system is free for users and then merchants pay a small fee on completed purchases. OpenAI added that this does not change the prices people see or alter the order in which products appear. Items that support Instant Checkout are not prioritised in results.

 

How Does Instant Checkout Work?

 

When a user asks a shopping question such as “best running shoes under $100,” ChatGPT will show a list of relevant products from across the web. These results are unsponsored and ranked only on relevance. If one of the products is connected to Instant Checkout, a “Buy” button appears.

Once selected, shoppers can confirm their shipping address and payment details inside the chat. Existing ChatGPT subscribers can pay with their saved cards, and other card and express payment options are also available. Orders are then passed on to the merchant. OpenAI explained that sellers fulfil orders using their current systems. ChatGPT acts like a go-between, safely sending details from the customer to the seller.

Stripe has worked closely on this launch, managing the transactions and helping build what OpenAI calls the Agentic Commerce Protocol. This protocol is the technology that allows AI agents, businesses and people to communicate during a purchase. Stripe President Will Gaybrick said the company is “building the economic infrastructure for AI” and wants to create new payment systems fit for this kind of commerce.

 

What Is The Agentic Commerce Protocol?

 

OpenAI described the Agentic Commerce Protocol as an open standard built with Stripe and merchant partners. It is designed so that businesses do not have to change their existing payment systems. A seller can process payments through their current provider while still connecting to ChatGPT.

If a merchant already uses Stripe, they can switch on this system in as little as one line of code. Those using another provider can still take part through Stripe’s Shared Payment Token API or by adopting the Delegated Payments Spec. The goal here is to make it easy to join without forcing merchants to change their processes.

OpenAI also said it is open sourcing the technology. This means developers and businesses can start building their own integrations with the protocol. The company hopes this will lead to many different sellers and developers connecting to ChatGPT for shopping.

 

 

What Does This Mean For Online Shopping?

 

The idea of AI acting as a digital shopper has been discussed for years.

OpenAI has said the technology is still at an early stage. Right now, it is limited to Etsy sellers in the United States. But the plan to add Shopify and other merchants, along with future support for baskets of items is telling of how this will proceed. If the protocol is adopted by more users, it could change how millions of people move from finding products to buying them.

Max Sinclair, CEO of Azoma, said: “OpenAI’s integration with Etsy, and soon Shopify, is only the start. This isn’t a closed system, and so we’ll see more partnerships quickly follow, expanding the pool of brands. Consumers are increasingly expecting to ask AI a question, get a trusted answer, and complete a purchase in one seamless flow – without paying extra for the convenience.

“The affiliate fee should be seen as the new cost of doing business online – a tax applied to everyone – but this process will rapidly become the new normal, and ultimately one of the most important channels for commerce.”

Xavier Sheikrojan, Director of Risk Intelligence at Signifyd, said: “The launch of agentic commerce inside ChatGPT marks a fundamental turning point for retail. For decades, merchants have fine-tuned the online customer journey but agent-led transactions mean the customer may not take that journey at all.

“When an AI agent selects and buys on behalf of a shopper, the order can arrive stripped of the behavioural and contextual signals retailers depend on to verify payments, detect fraud or attribute marketing. The merchant still fulfils the sale, but with far less oversight of how the decision was made.

“As peak season approaches, this shift will be especially stark. Shoppers may discover products and complete purchases entirely through an agent, leaving retailers with less visibility and control at the time of year that most directly impacts a retailer’s bottom line.

“Shopping through LLMs may feel seamless for the shopper, but it leaves retailers with uncomfortable questions around consent, accountability and whether they still have a real relationship with the customer at all. As major platforms push agent-driven shopping into the mainstream, retailers need to adapt fast and shift from curators of buying journeys to trusted endpoints in an ecosystem where autonomy doesn’t always come with accountability.”