OpenAI Teams with Etsy, Shopify on ChatGPT Checkout

OpenAI has introduced a new shopping feature in ChatGPT, enabling users to make purchases directly from Etsy and Shopify. Merchants pay a small transaction fee to OpenAI, while users enjoy a quick, fee-free instant checkout.

OpenAI is leveraging ChatGPT’s high user traffic to implement a new monetisation approach, signalling a shift from its traditional subscription model.

It’s transforming ChatGPT into a versatile sales platform, enabling U.S. users to purchase directly from Etsy sellers through the chat interface. Soon, more than a million Shopify merchants, such as Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori, will also join the platform. 

Starting Monday, Instant Checkout will enable purchases of a single item. Plans include adding multi-item carts and expanding to more merchants and regions. 

After the announcement, Etsy’s stock increased by 7.3%, and Shopify’s by 4.5%. Shopify characterises this experience as “frictionless commerce,” allowing for direct chat sales without links or redirects.

Etsy’s Chief Product and Technology Officer, Rafe Colburn, highlighted the transformative potential of AI-powered, autonomous shopping for the platform. 

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He mentioned that Etsy is collaborating with an unnamed tech company to incorporate seamless product discovery into mobile apps. In parallel, OpenAI intends to open-source the agentic commerce framework developed with Stripe to optimise checkout processes.