ChatGPT Instant Checkout: OpenAI introduces shopping function

The instant checkout function for ChatGPT will initially only be available in the USA. Nevertheless, this shows what OpenAI wants to be for the world: nothing less than a door and gateway to the Internet. To this end, OpenAI has developed an Agentic Commerce Protocol together with the payment service provider Stripe, which is now being made open source.

In addition to searching for information, people should also be able to use the AI chatbot for shopping and no longer have to leave it for the payment process. This is something that Meta and Tiktok, for example, already have up their sleeves for their social media services. OpenAI writes: “We help people not only to find products but also to buy them directly in the chat via ChatGPT.” The function is based on the Agentic Commerce Protocol. As this is offered as open source, retailers and developers can use it, it is generously stated. Obviously, however, the use of the protocol is also necessary for purchasing via ChatGPT to work. And then the merchants have to pay “a small fee” to OpenAI for the purchase process.

The Agentic Commerce Protocol can be read as an extension of the Model Context Protocol (MCP). The MCP makes websites readable and usable for AI agents.

As a rule, however, retailers have designed their own advertising environment on their websites and around their products and purchases. This would lose all relevance with the checkout in the chatbot. ChatGPT users in the USA can already complete the payment process in the chat for Etsy shops.

Shopping in the chatbot as the future

OpenAI says in the blog post that it's just the beginning: “As AI becomes an important interface for the way people discover, decide, and buy, the Agentic Commerce Protocol provides a foundation that connects people and businesses for the next era of commerce.” It has been announced that the checkout will be expanded; so far it is apparently only possible to buy a single item via ChatGPT. The function will also be made available in other regions.

Tiktok Shops and the shop functions on Facebook and Instagram are also only partially successful. However, they do offer vendors added value. On Tiktok, for example, products are advertised in short videos and can be purchased directly. The situation is similar on Meta's platforms, where small and medium-sized companies in particular can advertise their services or goods, and customer communication can also take place via the associated WhatsApp.

In addition to visibility, OpenAI also offers retailers the opportunity to strike quickly and easily. However, if people no longer visit a retailer's website, the retailer also loses further contact with the customer. According to OpenAI, the product ads in ChatGPT are selected purely organically; there is no paid advertising or other ranking factors other than “relevance for the user.”

(emw)