OpenAI Lets Users Buy via ChatGPT

“OpenAI is letting ChatGPT users buy things through its popular artificial-intelligence chatbot, all without leaving the confines of its platform.

 

The San Francisco AI company said Monday U.S. ChatGPT users will be able to buy goods from online marketplace Etsy's domestic sellers, as well as some merchants on Shopify's platform. The service, called Instant Checkout, currently only supports single-item purchases.

 

OpenAI also unveiled an open-source technical standard for merchants to build integrations with ChatGPT, called Agentic Commerce Protocol, which the company hopes will draw more merchants onto its chatbot platform. The protocol allows merchants to make their products shoppable inside ChatGPT.

 

Amazon.com and Walmart, the nation's two largest digital retailers, aren't currently using the protocol, OpenAI said.

 

OpenAI's announcements come as the company continues expanding the capabilities and reach of its flagship chatbot, which ignited the AI boom in late 2022. More than 1 in 10 people who use ChatGPT have some intent or interest in making a purchase, said Michelle Fradin, product lead for commerce in ChatGPT. That makes ChatGPT an ideal place for users to complete purchases, OpenAI said.

 

OpenAI's Operator AI agent, released this year, can buy goods on behalf of users, but requires them to manually enter their payment information at checkout. ChatGPT's Instant Checkout feature is meant to be easier to use within the chatbot, plus, more users are using ChatGPT to search for products than Operator, Fradin said.

 

Merchants pay a small fee on completed purchases through ChatGPT. OpenAI declined to specify the amount of that fee, citing confidentiality agreements with its partners.

 

For tech giants like Google and Amazon, there is a lot at stake as search and e-commerce are radically upended by tools like ChatGPT. People are turning to AI chatbots and services to act as personal shopping assistants, or even asking AI agents to do their purchasing for them.

 

As of August, OpenAI counted roughly 700 million people -- 9% of the world's population -- as weekly users of ChatGPT, up from 500 million in March.

 

Late last year, OpenAI pushed directly into Google's territory with the launch of a search engine for ChatGPT. The company added product recommendations inside ChatGPT in April, making it easier for chatbot users to compare products and services.

 

For online merchants, there is a risk of losing a direct connection to shoppers who might otherwise be visiting their websites. "The merchant gets the sale, that's the benefit, but they lose the [customer] loyalty," said Emily Pfeiffer, a principal analyst focused on commerce at IT research and consulting firm Forrester.

 

"A lot of retailers and brands are just very nervous because this is all moving super quickly."

 

But that is a threat OpenAI says won't bear out. "ChatGPT serves a very different purpose than a merchant's website," Fradin said.” [1]

 

1. OpenAI Lets Users Buy via ChatGPT. Lin, Belle.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 30 Sep 2025: B1.