OpenAI has launched a shopping system that allows ChatGPT users to make Etsy, and soon Shopify purchases through conversations. Its “Instant Checkout” feature available to ChatGPT Pro, Plus, and Free logged-in users, allows the purchase of products from U.S.-based Etsy sellers with more than one million Shopify merchants like Glossier, Skims, Spanx, and Vuori “coming soon.”
Instant Checkout builds upon previously available shopping features on the platform, that brought forth relevant products, images, reviews and prices in response to shopping-related questions. Users no longer need to leave the conversation to make the purchase, instead they can just tap “Buy” to confirm their order, shipping, and payment details (options include Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, or credit card). This development places OpenAI in competition with search engines like Google, and e-commerce platforms like Amazon.
“When someone asks a shopping question — ‘best running shoes under $100’ or ‘gifts for a ceramics lover’ — ChatGPT shows the most relevant products from across the web. Product results are organic and unsponsored, ranked purely on relevance to the user,” OpenAI said via its blog. “If a product supports Instant Checkout, users can tap ‘Buy,’ confirm their order, shipping, and payment details, and complete the purchase without ever leaving the chat. Existing ChatGPT subscribers can pay with their card on file, or other card and express payment options.”
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OpenAI also noted that it will open source its Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), the tech that powers Instant Checkout built with Stripe, so that other merchants and developers can integrate agentic checkout. “Stripe is building the economic infrastructure for AI,” Will Gaybrick, president of technology and business at Stripe, said in a statement. “That means re-architecting today’s commerce systems and creating new AI-powered experiences for billions of people.”
The company also noted that orders, payments, and fulfillment are handled by the merchant using their existing systems with ChatGPT merely acting as an intermediary that can securely pass along information between user and merchant.
“Our vision for ChatGPT — and a lot of the technology we create, but especially ChatGPT — is that it’s not just providing you information, it is also helping you get things done in the real world,” Michelle Fradin, OpenAI’s product lead for ChatGPT commerce, told CNBC in an interview.
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Fradin also stated that “a huge portion” of the ChatGPT user base — which reached 700 million weekly active users in August — are asking questions related to shopping and commerce in some capacity.
“What we wanted to do is make it even easier for users to complete their journey in ChatGPT, and for merchants and developers to convert those conversations into checkouts,” Fradin said.
Previously, rival Perplexity had launched a similar shopping experience. The shopping feature was originally added last year, and earlier this year the company announced it was partnering with PayPal to make purchases possible directly in chat.
Shares of Etsy closed up nearly 16%, and Shopify’s stock closed up more than 6% following the announcement.