You can now browse and buy your favorite products without ever leaving your chat window. OpenAI’s new Instant Checkout feature for ChatGPT is simplifying the shopping journey from discovery to purchase from within a single conversation.
Instant Checkout: Key Features and User Experience
Now available to U.S. ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users, Instant Checkout allows direct purchases from U.S. Etsy sellers with over a million Shopify merchants joining soon. While the feature currently supports single-item purchases, OpenAI plans to expand to multi-item carts and additional regions in the near future.
- Simplicity for Shoppers: Users can ask ChatGPT for product recommendations, receive relevant, unsponsored results, and complete purchases right in the chat interface.
- Fast and Secure: Shoppers simply tap “Buy,” confirm order details, and complete checkout—no need to switch apps or re-enter information.
- Seamless Merchant Integration: Orders, payments, and shipping are handled by merchants’ existing systems, allowing them to retain full control over the customer experience.
- Unbiased Product Listings: Product rankings remain organic and are not influenced by Instant Checkout availability.
The Agentic Commerce Protocol: How It Works
Powering this innovation is the Agentic Commerce Protocol, an open standard co-developed with Stripe and leading merchant partners. The protocol enables AI agents, users, and businesses to collaborate on purchases, regardless of their platform or payment provider.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Merchants can continue using their current backend and payment solutions with minimal changes.
- Easy Adoption: Stripe users can activate agentic payments with just a few lines of code, while others can integrate via Stripe APIs or the protocol’s delegated payment specification.
- Merchant Autonomy: Sellers remain the merchant of record, managing orders, returns, and support as they always have.
Credit: OpenAi
Trust, Security, and User Control
OpenAI has built Instant Checkout with a strong focus on privacy and security. Each transaction requires explicit user consent, and payments are authorized through encrypted tokens, ensuring funds go only to the specified merchant for the approved amount.
- User Consent: Buyers must confirm each step in the checkout process.
- Secure Transactions: Payment authorization is limited to the exact merchant and transaction amount.
- Minimal Data Sharing: Only essential order information is shared with merchants, and always with user permission.
For merchants, there’s a small fee per successful purchase. Shoppers, however, benefit from convenience at no extra cost and without any impact on product prices.
Why Instant Checkout Matters
This launch marks a pivotal moment for agentic commerce, where AI evolves from simply suggesting products to actively facilitating transactions. Shoppers enjoy a frictionless path from product discovery to purchase, while merchants access ChatGPT’s extensive user base without sacrificing business independence.
OpenAI is also open-sourcing the Agentic Commerce Protocol, inviting developers and merchants everywhere to join in building the future of AI-driven shopping. As AI becomes central to commerce, this protocol sets new standards for connectivity, intelligence, and security in e-commerce.
The Road Ahead
Instant Checkout in ChatGPT is just the beginning. Expect broader merchant participation, enhanced shopping capabilities, and evolving standards for safe and personalized online shopping. The journey toward smarter, more convenient e-commerce is well underway.
How ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout Is Changing Online Shopping