OpenAI has launched an unprecedented instant checkout feature for ChatGPT, reimagining how users interact with products and merchants online. Starting September 2025, U.S. users—across ChatGPT Free, Plus, and Pro tiers—can now purchase Etsy items and, soon, products from more than a million Shopify merchants without ever leaving their chat window. Major brands including Glossier and SKIMS are among the early adopters.cnbc+9
How Agentic Commerce Works
At the heart of this transformation is the Agentic Commerce Protocol, a new open-source standard co-developed with Stripe and released publicly by OpenAI. This protocol enables encrypted payment tokens, supporting secure and frictionless transactions where user control remains paramount: every purchase requires explicit confirmation for shipping and payment.fortune+3
For merchants, especially those already using Stripe, integration is as simple as a one-line code change; others can leverage Stripe’s Shared Payment Token API. This removes technical barriers and allows tens of thousands of small businesses to experiment with AI-centric commerce.stripe+3
From Conversation to Checkout: A User Experience Revolution
By incorporating buying options directly into chat—complete with a “Buy” button—ChatGPT dramatically shortens the path from discovery to purchase. Consumers can ask for gift ideas, product recommendations, or specific items and complete transactions within the same conversational interface. Multi-item carts and international expansion are next on OpenAI’s roadmap.cointribune+4
Business Model and Strategic Implications
OpenAI will collect merchant fees only from completed sales, making the service free for shoppers and ensuring product prices remain unaffected. Notably, Instant Checkout products do not get special preference in ChatGPT’s organic search results—recommendations continue to prioritize price, quality, availability, and seller reliability.euronews+2
This move marks a significant new revenue stream for OpenAI as it ramps up investment in infrastructure, with the company still unprofitable and burning through substantial cash.bloomberg+3
Industry Impact: Threat to Search and E-commerce Giants
Analysts describe this as a radical shift (“agentic commerce”) that could threaten the dominance of traditional search and referral ecosystems, notably Google’s search advertising business. By keeping consumers within the ChatGPT environment for both shopping inquiry and action, OpenAI may erode referral traffic and reshape marketing strategies. The seamless, AI-driven workflow sets new expectations for convenience and speed across the sector.techcrunch+2
With the Agentic Commerce Protocol open-sourced, competitors and developers are invited to integrate these agentic payment flows in their own products, potentially accelerating the adoption of AI-driven purchases far beyond ChatGPT.heise+3
What’s Next?
-
Multi-item cart support and rollout to more regions and merchants.
-
Further industry adoption of the Agentic Commerce Protocol as a standard for secure, AI-driven payment interactions.
-
Stronger competition between platforms to offer fully agentic, automated shopping—potentially including AI agents making purchases without user confirmation.
Key Sources for Ongoing Developments
-
CNBC: OpenAI launches Instant Checkout for Etsy, Shopify, and more.cnbc
-
Bloomberg: Stripe partnership enables US shoppers to buy with ChatGPT.bloomberg
-
Fortune: Agentic Commerce Protocol and the strategy against Google.fortune
-
OpenAI.com: Official announcement and developer documentation.openai
-
Euronews: Market reaction and partnership details with Etsy and Shopify.euronews
-
TechCrunch: The future of agentic shopping versus Google and Amazon.techcrunch
-
Heise Online: Protocol’s technical open source details.heise
-
Cointribune: Response from brands and industry insights.cointribune
This marks the beginning of agentic commerce: a world where AI isn’t just your shopping assistant, but also the checkout itself, powered by open, secure protocols and expanding merchant networks.
- https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/29/chatgpt-instant-checkout-etsy-shopify.html
- https://www.cointribune.com/en/ai-openai-integrates-instant-purchase-into-chatgpt/
- https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/09/30/etsy-shares-soar-16-after-openai-partnership-on-chatgpt-payment
- https://fortune.com/2025/09/29/openai-rolls-out-purchases-direct-from-chatgpt-in-a-radical-shift-to-e-commerce-and-direct-challenge-to-google/
- https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-29/stripe-joins-with-openai-to-allow-purchases-with-chatgpt
- https://www.heise.de/en/news/ChatGPT-Instant-Checkout-OpenAI-introduces-shopping-function-10679201.html
- https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/openai-partners-with-etsy-shopify-chatgpt-checkout-2025-09-29/
- https://openai.com/index/buy-it-in-chatgpt/
- https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/29/openai-takes-on-google-amazon-with-new-agentic-shopping-system/
- https://searchengineland.com/openai-chatgpt-instant-checkout-462727
- https://stripe.com/newsroom/news/stripe-openai-instant-checkout
- https://www.citethisforme.com
- https://www.scribbr.com/citation/generator/
- https://writingcooperative.com/never-run-out-of-article-topics-5-reliable-sources-fb161a77de3e
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-write-article-six-step-guide-saahil-nair
- https://iulianionescu.com/how-to-write-an-article/
- https://spcollege.libguides.com/news/namingsources
- https://writesonic.com/ai-article-writer-generator
- https://mashable.com/article/openai-launches-instant-checkout-with-1-million-merchants-coming-soon
- https://www.paragraphai.com/how-to-write-an-article