September 29 — OpenAI has launched a new feature that lets users shop directly within ChatGPT, thanks to partnerships with Etsy and Shopify.
The integration introduces Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, which allows purchases to be completed in chat. Merchants will pay a small transaction fee to manage the sales, but the main point is that the product prices remain unaffected, and customers will not face extra charges for using the service.
The update marks a fresh revenue stream for OpenAI, complementing its subscription plans while tapping into ChatGPT’s massive user base.
According to a company blog post, U.S. ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and free users can now purchase items from U.S.-based Etsy sellers directly in the app. Support for over a million Shopify merchants — including well-known brands such as Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori — is expected to roll out soon.
For now, Instant Checkout supports only single-item purchases, but OpenAI confirmed that multi-item carts, broader merchant coverage, and additional regions are in the pipeline.
After this great move, Etsy’s market soared: Etsy shares climbed 7.3%, while Shopify’s U.S.-listed stock rose 4.5% following the news. This simply shows that people today don’t want to waste time comparing products across different sites—using ChatGPT, everything takes place in one place.
Why Use ChatGPT for Your eCommerce
ChatGPT can offer numerous benefits that can transform your eCommerce journey. Here are some of the biggest reasons why ChatGPT eCommerce can change the future:
- Save Time and Energy: ChatGPT can manage almost every task, like engagement with customers. This simple automation can help us to completely focus on the product rather than customer support.
- ChatGPT can be your best copywriter: As we all know, ChatGPT is the number one writing tool we have, and we can use this ability to write our product description content and more
- Helping us to get the best customer insights: By deeply analysing customer interactions, ChatGPT can highlight patterns in the behaviour and preferences of customers. These insights help you make smarter business decisions and help us build a customer-centric marketing method
- Deliver personalised recommendations for each customer: ChatGPT can know our customers’ need and their actions across the whole internet
- Power Up Your Marketing: Whether it’s crafting persuasive product listings, drafting email campaigns, or generating engaging social media content, ChatGPT helps you create compelling marketing materials that resonate with your audience and drive sales.
Shopify highlighted that merchants will be able to sell directly through ChatGPT conversations without requiring external links or redirects, promising a smooth shopping experience.
Etsy’s Chief Product & Technology Officer, Rafe Colburn, noted that agentic, AI-powered shopping could bring valuable opportunities to online retail. He added that Etsy is collaborating with a tech partner to better integrate product discovery into mobile shopping, though he did not name the partner.
OpenAI also revealed that it plans to open-source the agentic commerce protocol, developed with payments giant Stripe, which provides the backbone for the checkout system.
Also read: OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Pulse: Your AI-Powered Morning Briefing
