OpenAI today launched a new ChatGPT feature that enables users to make online purchases directly in the chatbot’s interface.
Instant Checkout, as the feature is called, is initially available in the U.S. to users with free, Plus and Pro accounts. It can be used to place single-item orders with Etsy Inc. merchants. Down the line, OpenAI plans to add support for multi-item purchases and online stores powered by Shopify Inc.’s e-commerce platform.
Shares of Etsy jumped 16% on the news. Shopify ended the trading session up more than 6%.
“When someone asks a shopping question — ‘best running shoes under $100’ or ‘gifts for a ceramics lover’ — ChatGPT shows the most relevant products from across the web,” OpenAI staffers explained in a blog post today. “Product results are organic and unsponsored, ranked purely on relevance to the user.”
OpenAI plans to monetize the feature by charging a fee from participating merchants. In the future, the AI provider could potentially open additional revenue streams by adding advertising options for those merchants. OpenAI disclosed today that more than 700 million consumers use ChatGPT every week.
If it gains traction, Instant Checkout could create more competition for e-commerce marketplaces. ChatGPT can find product listings even if merchants post them on their own websites instead of a major marketplace.
Under the hood, Instant Checkout is powered by a technology known as the Agentic Commerce Protocol, or ACP, that OpenAI open-sourced today. The AI provider developed it through a collaboration with Stripe Inc. Merchants who use the payment processing platform can add ACP support to their websites with one line of code.
Connecting an online store to Instant Checkout requires a so-called ACP endpoint. It’s an interface that enables ChatGPT to access the store’s transaction processing system. According to OpenAI, an ACP endpoint can be implemented as a standard application programming interface or as an MCP server. MCP is a technology developed by OpenAI competitor Anthropic PBC to let AI agents interact with external systems.
After an online retailer creates an ACP endpoint, it must upload a file that contains data about its products. That data comprises a description of each item, its price, shipping options and related details. Merchants can update the file every 15 minutes to ensure that ChatGPT users have up-to-date information.
When a user places an order in ChatGPT, Instant Checkout sends the order details to the relevant retailer. That company then processes the transaction using its own processing processing system. After the transaction is finalized, ChatGPT displays a confirmation message to the shopper.
OpenAI rival Perplexity AI Inc. introduced a similar e-commerce tool called Buy with Pro last November. In addition to speeding up online shopping for users of the company’s AI search engine, the feature provides free shipping.
Image: OpenAI