ChatGPT Shopping: Now you can buy directly in the chat

OpenAI has announced the launch of Instant Checkout in ChatGPT, allowing users to make purchases directly in chat while receiving AI assistance at every step of the buying process. ChatGPT now acts as an intermediary in commercial transactions, serving as an agent on behalf of the user. This marks the beginning of a new phase of agentic commerce — where artificial intelligence helps consumers shop quickly, seamlessly, and securely. How the Instant Checkout Process Works Instant Checkout keeps ChatGPT at the center of every step — from product discovery to payment confirmation: The user finds a product through a chat with ChatGPT, clicks “Buy,” and confirms payment and shipping details. ChatGPT sends the signal to the merchant, who provides fulfillment options. ChatGPT displays them to the user, who selects the preferred one. The merchant calculates taxes and the final price, which ChatGPT shows for purchase confirmation. ChatGPT collects secure payment tokens and other details, passing them to the merchant, who then accepts or declines the order. The payment processor charges the payment method, and confirmations cascade to all parties — the merchant, ChatGPT, and the user. This process ensures a safe and controlled shopping experience directly within the chat interface. Learn more about how ChatGPT generates product search results. Comparison with Perplexity’s “Buy with Pro” The Instant Checkout feature in ChatGPT is similar to Perplexity’s “Buy with Pro,” launched in November last year. However, ChatGPT’s version introduces several key differences: No “free shipping” perks. Open access for all users, without subscriber limitations. Faster onboarding for merchants, with much greater scalability thanks to ChatGPT’s massive user base. Opportunities and Challenges of Instant Checkout This new feature highlights the growing importance of brand and product visibility within ChatGPT, as well as the need to optimize product feeds for agentic commerce. For now, the experience remains organic and non-sponsored, though it’s only a matter of time before OpenAI introduces a paid placement model. Currently, transactions require considerable prompting and offer limited product selection, resulting in a less-than-ideal user experience for the first iteration. What’s Available Now Instant Checkout is currently available only for U.S. merchants on Etsy, supporting single-item purchases. This marks the first stage of the rollout, with additional merchant integrations expected soon. Read more OpenAI launches shopping feature in ChatGPT Search. How Merchants Can Participate Merchants who want to enable Instant Checkout can: Integrate their products into ChatGPT Search results. Activate Instant Checkout through the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). Merchants pay a small fee for completed purchases (refunded if the item is returned), while the experience remains free for users. ChatGPT serves as the AI agent, securely transferring information between the user and the merchant. ACP is designed to be simple to integrate and flexible across payment processors and platforms. How Organic Visibility Works in ChatGPT Product listings in ChatGPT are organic and unsponsored, ranked based on relevance to the user’s query and conversational context. When user intent indicates readiness to purchase, ChatGPT displays product cards that allow direct in-chat purchases. Instant Checkout does not receive preferential ranking, but when multiple merchants offer the same product, ChatGPT considers: Availability Price Quality Whether the merchant is a primary seller Whether Instant Checkout is enabled to optimize user experience How Orders, Payments, and Fulfillment Work Orders, payments, and fulfillment are handled entirely by the merchant using their existing systems. Stripe users can enable payments with a single line of code. Once an order is placed, ChatGPT sends all necessary details to the merchant’s backend via ACP. The merchant then: Accepts or declines the order. Processes the payment. Manages fulfillment and customer support as usual. What’s Still in Development Many details of Instant Checkout are still evolving: Fees and cost structure: The exact merchant fee has not yet been disclosed. Shopify integration: Will open Instant Checkout to over a million Shopify merchants once available. The activation process is still being finalized. Additional integrations: More platforms and merchant partnerships are in progress. Revenue optimization: Cross-sell, up-sell, and multi-item purchase capabilities are still under development. Global reach: Currently limited to U.S. consumers. Preparing Product Feeds Now is the ideal time for merchants to review how complete and structured their product feeds are. Feed quality directly impacts how effectively ChatGPT can match products to user prompts and generate accurate responses. Key considerations include: Are essential product attributes present — especially those influencing purchasing decisions? How structured is the product schema? The more detailed and structured, the better ChatGPT can reference it in conversation. For example: height, width, and depth measurements of a nightstand. The richer and more structured your feed, the stronger your visibility potential within ChatGPT’s embedded shopping experience. Next Steps for Merchants Merchants can apply through OpenAI’s Instant Checkout form (Etsy and Shopify sellers are automatically covered). In the meantime, they should: Prepare and validate product feeds. Begin integration work. Monitor organic product visibility within ChatGPT’s shopping experience. Optimize product pages for high-intent prompts that trigger embedded shopping. This article available in Ukrainian.