OpenAI has introduced Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, marking its biggest step yet into online shopping.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- ChatGPT users in the U.S. can now buy directly from Etsy sellers, with over 1 million Shopify merchants coming soon.
- The feature is powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), co-developed with Stripe and open-sourced for developers.
- Instant Checkout lets shoppers complete purchases within chat without redirecting to another site.
- OpenAI’s move positions ChatGPT as a potential rival to e-commerce giants like Google and Amazon in product discovery and sales.
What Happened?
OpenAI has launched a new shopping capability inside ChatGPT that allows users to make direct purchases from U.S. Etsy sellers, with Shopify merchants like Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori set to join soon. The tool, called Instant Checkout, is available to Plus, Pro, and Free ChatGPT users.
ChatGPT already helps millions of people find what to buy. Now it can help them buy it too.
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) September 29, 2025
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
How Instant Checkout Works?
When a user searches for products in ChatGPT, such as “best sneakers under $100” or “gifts for a ceramics lover,” the system returns organic, unsponsored results ranked only on relevance.
- If a product supports Instant Checkout, users can tap “Buy,” confirm their shipping and payment details, and complete the order without leaving the chat.
- Payments can be processed using existing details on file or through options like Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, or credit cards.
- Merchants handle orders, payments, fulfillment, and customer support using their existing systems.
- Shoppers pay no extra cost, while merchants pay a small fee on completed purchases.
This frictionless process turns ChatGPT into a kind of digital personal shopper, connecting buyers directly with merchants.
The Agentic Commerce Protocol
At the heart of Instant Checkout is the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), an open standard built by OpenAI in partnership with Stripe and merchant partners.
ACP allows AI agents, people, and businesses to work together securely to complete transactions. Its key features include:
- Works across platforms, payment processors, and business types.
- Quick integration without major backend changes.
- Keeps merchants as the merchant of record, ensuring they control customer relationships, returns, and support.
For Stripe users, enabling ACP can take as little as one line of code. Other payment processors can connect using Stripe’s Shared Payment Token API or the Delegated Payments Spec in ACP.
Why This Matters?
The move puts OpenAI in direct competition with Google and Amazon, which have long dominated retail discovery and online checkout. By offering a chat-first shopping experience, OpenAI is shifting product discovery away from search engines and big platforms to conversational AI.
Industry rivals are already pursuing similar strategies. Microsoft is building in-chat storefronts through its Copilot Merchant Program, while Perplexity AI introduced shopping and payments within its chatbot last year. Google has also developed its own open protocol for agent-driven payments, called Agent Payments Protocol (AP2).
If more shopping starts inside AI chatbots, the companies running these systems will gain significant influence over what products people see, buy, and how much merchants pay in fees.
Built for Trust
OpenAI emphasizes that trust and security are central to the system.
- Users must confirm each step before purchases are made.
- Payments use encrypted tokens tied to specific merchants and amounts.
- Only essential information is shared with merchants, and always with the user’s permission.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
I think this is a huge shift for e-commerce. OpenAI just turned ChatGPT into more than a helpful assistant. It is now a shopping platform. If users start browsing and buying within chat, Google and Amazon will lose some of their dominance in product discovery. For small merchants, this could be game-changing, giving them direct access to hundreds of millions of ChatGPT users without fighting against paid ads or high marketplace fees.
It also shows how quickly AI is moving beyond conversation into real-world transactions. Personally, I see this as a glimpse into the future where chatbots are not just assistants, but actual commerce engines.
