ChatGPT unveils ‘Instant Checkout’ feature, simplifying purchases within chats

Instant Checkout builds on earlier ChatGPT purchasing functions that, in response to shopping queries like, “What should I get my friend who loves ceramics?” or “Best trainers to wear to the office?”, generated relevant products, images, reviews, prices, and direct links to merchants. Users can now confirm their order, delivery, and payment details (credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Stripe) by simply tapping “Buy” instead of ending the chat.

Perplexity introduced a similar in-chat purchasing and payment feature last year. With the Copilot Merchant Program, Microsoft also offers retailers the option to develop in-chat storefront features.

Shift from traditional search engines likely

This seamless online shopping experience could lead to a shift away from traditional search engines and e-commerce platforms towards conversational agents that provide curated recommendations and smooth checkouts. This shift might empower new players in e-commerce, challenging the dominance of Google and Amazon, as purchases initiated within AI chatbots could affect product visibility and related fees.

Amazon and Google have historically used their market power to promote their own products or preferred partners, suppressing competitors in search results or charging high fees to sellers to ensure visibility. OpenAI mentioned in a blog post that the product outcomes it presents are “natural and unsponsored, ranked solely on user relevance,” and it plans to impose a “small fee” on merchants for completed purchases.

With OpenAI’s launch of in-chat checkout, the AI firm also announced it would open source its Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), the technology behind Instant Checkout developed with Stripe, allowing other merchants and developers to implement agentic checkout.

“Stripe is creating the economic framework for AI,” said Will Gaybrick, president of technology and business at Stripe, in a statement. “This involves redesigning current commerce systems and developing AI-driven experiences for billions of people.”

Role of facilitator

Although some individuals may hesitate to provide ChatGPT with private payment information, the company asserts that transactions, payments, and order fulfillment are handled by the merchant through their established systems. ChatGPT merely acts as a facilitator, a conduit that can securely transfer information between the user and the seller.

Making ACP open source simplifies integration for merchants with ChatGPT, increasing the use of AI chatbots serving as virtual storefronts. It further enhances OpenAI’s capacity to act as a gatekeeper for retail exploration and transactions, potentially establishing the company as the primary creator of the AI commerce framework.

This could create further tension with Google, which recently introduced its own open protocol for AI agent purchases, called Agent Payments Protocol (AP2).