OpenAI has announced a new Instant Checkout feature, that lets people complete purchases inside ChatGPT, starting with Etsy sellers and rolling out to Shopify merchants.
The company is also releasing the Agentic Commerce Protocol as an open source standard built with Stripe, so more sellers and developers can integrate the new checkout flow.
Instant Checkout begins as a streamlined way to buy single items without leaving a conversation. OpenAI says the feature will first work with U.S. Etsy sellers, and that selected Shopify merchants will be added soon, with plans to expand support for more shops and regions over time.
The company is positioning the experience as fast and simple, with payments handled inside the chat and clear labeling so users know when they are completing a purchase.
Underpinning the new flow is the Agentic Commerce Protocol, a technical standard that OpenAI is open sourcing so that merchants and developers can adopt a shared way to connect product catalogs, inventory and payments to ChatGPT. The protocol was developed with Stripe and is intended to let third parties build agent driven purchasing features that feel native to the chat experience.
The move carries business implications for merchants and for OpenAI. Reports and industry coverage have suggested that integrated checkout could become an important revenue stream for the platform as it seeks ways to monetize high levels of engagement.
ChatGPT already helps millions of people find what to buy. Now it can help them buy it too.
We’re introducing Instant Checkout in ChatGPT with @Etsy and @Shopify, and open-sourcing the Agentic Commerce Protocol that powers it, built with @Stripe, so more merchants and developers… pic.twitter.com/9miGZr1Yn7
— OpenAI (@OpenAI)
For sellers, being discoverable and purchasable inside ChatGPT may drive new traffic and conversions, but it could also shift where shopper loyalty is created, since the purchase path would begin and end inside the AI interface rather than on a merchant site. OpenAI says merchants will still receive customer information necessary to fulfill orders, which helps preserve direct relationships between buyers and sellers.
Instant Checkout currently supports single item purchases and is available to users in the United States, with multi item carts and wider international availability planned for later.
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