OpenAI is bringing e-commerce directly into ChatGPT with a new feature called Instant Checkout, allowing users in the US to buy products without leaving the chat interface. The rollout begins with Etsy and will soon include more than a million Shopify merchants, positioning the chatbot as both a recommendation engine and a point-of-sale system.
The process is designed to be straightforward. If a user asks ChatGPT for a specific type of product — say, affordable coffee-related gifts — the AI can now suggest relevant options and handle the purchase within the same window. After entering payment and shipping details, checkout can be completed with a single tap. At launch, the system supports only one item per transaction, but OpenAI says multi-item cart support and international expansion are on the way.
The feature is powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol, an open standard developed in partnership with Stripe. The protocol allows AI agents, merchants, and payment providers to exchange information securely, while fulfillment, returns, and customer service remain with the seller. Merchants will pay a small fee per completed sale.
Importantly, OpenAI emphasizes that product suggestions are not paid placements but are based on relevance. With ChatGPT reportedly serving more than 700 million weekly users, the move could create a new channel for independent sellers while testing the balance between user trust and commerce inside an AI-driven platform.
Stripe, which handles the payments behind Instant Checkout, has framed its involvement as part of a broader effort to build what it calls “economic infrastructure for AI.” The partnership suggests that conversational shopping, where purchases are guided and completed through chat interfaces, could become a more prominent part of online retail.
Whether users embrace ChatGPT as a shopping tool will depend on how seamless the experience proves to be and whether consumers trust the AI’s recommendations as neutral and useful rather than commercialized.openai launches instant checkout in chatgpt, starting with etsy and shopify
