When a user searches for a product related to their interests, ChatGPT will display recommendations ranked by relevance, without revealing payment details. If a product offers an “Instant Checkout” option, users can simply tap “Buy” to confirm their shipping and payment information, allowing them to complete the order without leaving the chat.
ChatGPT will pass the information securely as orders, payments, and fulfillment run through the merchant’s existing systems. The sellers will pay a small transaction fee, and buyers will pay no extra cost for it.
OpenAI stated that products are ranked solely based on relevance, not on sponsorship or whether Instant Checkout is available. Merchants continue to be the merchant of record, maintaining control over fulfillment and customer relationships.
As OpenAI is now at the beginning of the purchase journey, brands or businesses selling products would enable a new channel to optimize. This new feature has the potential to bypass traditional search and enable buyers to go straight to checkout.
OpenAI is onboarding merchants on a rolling basis through an online application form. However, Etsy and Shopify sellers are already eligible and don’t need to apply.
The new approach of OpenAI is a bit different than Google’s agentic search capabilities. ChatGPT will complete the purchase on behalf of the user; meanwhile, Google is letting users take the final conversion action.
It is pertinent to mention that OpenAI has plans to introduce multi-item carts with expansion to Shopify million-plus merchants (Glossier, SKIMS, and Spanx). The company will spread the new e-commerce feature to more regions beyond the US.
