Your Store in the Age of AI Shopping
Something big just changed in e-commerce. Your customers can now ask ChatGPT to find and buy products for them — and complete the entire purchase without leaving the conversation.
This isn’t a future concept. It’s live today, and it’s called Instant Checkout.
Already live: Shopify and Etsy merchants in the US can receive orders directly from ChatGPT’s 700+ million weekly users right now.
See It in Action
OpenAI: Instant Checkout in ChatGPT
The Official Announcement
On September 29, 2025, OpenAI announced:
“More than 700 million people turn to ChatGPT each week for help with everyday tasks, including finding products they love. Starting today, we’re taking the first steps toward ChatGPT helping people buy them too.”
U.S. ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can now buy directly from Etsy sellers right in chat, with over a million Shopify merchants — including Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori — coming soon.
How Instant Checkout Works
When someone asks ChatGPT a shopping question — “best running shoes under $100” or “gifts for a ceramics lover” — it shows the most relevant products from across the web.
Product results are organic and unsponsored, ranked purely on relevance.
If a product supports Instant Checkout, users tap “Buy,” confirm their details, and complete the purchase without leaving the chat. Orders, payments, and fulfillment are handled by you, the merchant, using your existing systems.
ChatGPT acts as the user’s AI agent — securely passing information between buyer and seller, like a digital personal shopper.
What This Means for Merchants
From OpenAI’s announcement:
“Merchants pay a small fee on completed purchases, but the service is free for users, doesn’t affect their prices, and doesn’t influence ChatGPT’s product results. Instant Checkout items are not preferred in product results.”
You stay in control. The protocol was built so merchants:
- Keep the customer relationship as the merchant of record
- Handle fulfillment and returns through existing systems
- Process payments via their existing provider
- Control their own customer communication
Who Built This
The Agentic Commerce Protocol was co-developed by:
| Partner | What They Bring |
|---|---|
| OpenAI | ChatGPT’s 700M+ weekly users and AI capabilities |
| Stripe | Payment infrastructure powering millions of businesses |
They made it an open standard so any AI assistant, any payment provider, and any store can participate. This isn’t a walled garden.
“Stripe is building the economic infrastructure for AI. We’re proud to power Instant Checkout in ChatGPT and co-develop the Agentic Commerce Protocol to help businesses and AI platforms build the future of commerce.”
— Will Gaybrick, President of Technology and Business, Stripe
Built for Trust
From the official announcement:
- Users stay in control — they explicitly confirm each step before any action is taken
- Payment is secure — encrypted payment tokens are only authorized for specific amounts and specific merchants
- Data sharing is minimal — only the information required to complete the order is shared
What Should I Do Next?
Not technical? That’s okay. Most of this site is written for store owners first. The developer section is clearly marked for when you need to hand things off to your tech team.
Want the backstory? Read why Stripe and OpenAI built ACP and what they learned along the way.
Ready to apply? Apply to ChatGPT’s merchant program →