OpenAI’s Instant Checkout: Buy Directly Within ChatGPT!

Following its ventures in search technology, OpenAI is now aiming to transform the e-commerce space with a new feature called Instant Checkout. This allows consumers to make online purchases directly from the ChatGPT interface.

OpenAI Integrates Shopping Directly into ChatGPT

This development is likely to cast a further shadow over Google. OpenAI has recently unveiled Instant Checkout, enabling users to shop online directly through the ChatGPT interface without needing to exit the chat. This step forward in e-commerce comes a few months after the release of ChatGPT Shopping, which already provided access to a product carousel but did not previously support direct purchases.

Specifically, when a user asks ChatGPT for product recommendations, the AI offers relevant items stating: “The results are natural and not sponsored, sorted solely based on their relevance to the user,” according to OpenAI. If any of the suggested products are compatible with Instant Checkout, users can click “Buy,” confirm their payment and delivery details, and complete the purchase all within the chat. Currently, ChatGPT only handles single item purchases but plans to support multiple product transactions in the coming months.

This feature is currently available to U.S. users across Free, Plus, and Pro subscriptions, with plans to expand to non-U.S. users in the future.

This marks a new phase in agentive commerce, where ChatGPT not only assists in finding products but also facilitates the purchase, explains OpenAI.

Collaboration with Stripe for Instant Payments

While Perplexity opts for PayPal, OpenAI has partnered with Stripe for this innovation. They have co-developed a transaction layer called the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), which acts as an intermediary between the AI, the user, and the merchant. Notably, the protocol has been made open source, enabling developers to start building integrations immediately.

Behind the scenes, the process is straightforward: ChatGPT serves as an intelligent intermediary, securely transmitting information between the user and the merchant. The management of orders, payments, and logistics remains entirely the responsibility of the vendor, who continues to use their standard systems. Merchants pay a small commission on each successful transaction, while the service remains free for users, with no impact on prices. When the same product is available from multiple vendors, ChatGPT evaluates various criteria (availability, price, quality, compatibility with Instant Checkout) to optimize the shopping experience.

Merchants already using Stripe can enable Instant Checkout with just a single line of code. Those using other providers can still benefit from Instant Checkout through the new Stripe API or the ACP protocol.

For buyers, it’s very simple: a few clicks take you from chat to payment. For sellers, it opens up a new way to reach hundreds of millions of people while maintaining complete control over their payments, systems, and customer relationships.