On Monday, artificial intelligence startup OpenAI announced the launch of a new feature called "Instant Checkout," enabling users to complete product purchases directly through its AI chatbot ChatGPT, marking a significant step for OpenAI into the e-commerce sector.
Currently, the feature initially supports U.S. users in purchasing individual items from the Etsy platform through ChatGPT, available for ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and free version users. OpenAI stated that it will expand to over one million Shopify merchants in the future, including well-known brands such as Skims and Glossier.
Boosted by this news, Etsy stock surged nearly 16% on Monday, while Shopify stock rose over 6%. OpenAI revealed it will collect fees from transactions completed through ChatGPT, which will become an important new revenue stream for the company. Although specific fee rates were not disclosed, OpenAI emphasized that these fees will not affect users' final payment prices.
OpenAI has yet to achieve profitability and is currently investing heavily in expanding its computing infrastructure. OpenAI Product Lead Michelle Fradin stated that the company's vision is for ChatGPT to not only provide information but also help users complete practical tasks in the real world. In the future, Instant Checkout will support multi-item shopping carts and gradually expand globally.
Technically, Instant Checkout is powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol developed through OpenAI's collaboration with fintech company Stripe, allowing users to complete transactions within ChatGPT without being redirected to merchant websites. Additionally, OpenAI plans to open-source this framework to enable merchants and developers to quickly build integrated scenarios and explore more payment and purchase applications.
As of August this year, ChatGPT's weekly active users have exceeded 700 million, with a significant portion of queries related to shopping and consumption. Fradin noted: "We want to make users' shopping journeys seamlessly completed within ChatGPT, while helping merchants and developers convert conversations into transactions."