OpenAI adds Instant Checkout so you can shop directly on ChatGPT
It could turn ChatGPT into a new kind of storefront, starting with Etsy purchases in the U.S. and expanding soon to Shopify’s millions of merchants.
A couple of months ago, we caught wind of OpenAI working on a new shopping feature for ChatGPT.
Now, it’s official as the company has launched Instant Checkout, starting in the U.S., which lets people buy products from Etsy sellers without ever leaving the chat. Support for more than a million Shopify merchants is also on the way.
If you’ve ever used ChatGPT for shopping recommendations, this feels like the missing piece. The chatbot could already suggest products with images, prices, and reviews, but completing the purchase meant clicking out to another site. With Instant Checkout, that final step happens right in the conversation. Tap “Buy,” confirm shipping and payment details through Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, or a card, and you’re done.
Louis Eriakha
Merchants will still handle fulfillment through their own systems; ChatGPT simply passes information securely between buyer and seller. Prices don’t change either, though OpenAI does take a small transaction fee, a potential new revenue stream as it looks to offset rising infrastructure costs.
Investors took notice of the launch, too. Etsy shares jumped nearly 16% after the announcement, while Shopify gained more than 6%. The signal is clear that this isn’t just a convenience play. If people start turning to chatbots for both recommendations and checkout, the path to online shopping could shift away from search engines and marketplaces toward conversational AI.
Of course, OpenAI isn’t alone here. Perplexity has already launched its own “Buy with Pro” tool, Microsoft is pushing its Copilot Merchant Program, and Google is experimenting with an open payments protocol. To speed things up, OpenAI is also open-sourcing the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) behind Instant Checkout, built with Stripe. That means other merchants and developers could soon plug in, positioning chatbots as the new storefronts of the internet.
In the end, Instant Checkout is more than a neat feature. It points to a future where shopping joins search and entertainment in moving into the chat era—one tap, one conversation, and the transaction is done.
Emmanuel Oyedeji
