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OpenAI is expanding ChatGPT‘s shopping capabilities, and it’s now making it easier to browse Shopify-powered brand stores and buy products through a more flexible checkout experience. The update builds on the company’s push into “agentic commerce,” aimed at improving product discovery and streamlining purchases.
Is OpenAI moving away from Instant Checkout?
OpenAI first introduced ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout experience last year, allowing users to buy products directly in the chat interface. The feature was powered by its Agentic Commerce Protocol and supported platforms like Etsy and Shopify, along with retailers such as Walmart and Sam’s Club.
However, Instant Checkout didn’t fully take off. Recent reports suggested that OpenAI was shifting focus from offering a native checkout experience within ChatGPT to allowing merchants to create their own app integrations that would route users to the checkout experience on their websites.
The company has now confirmed the shift, noting that the “initial version of Instant Checkout did not offer the level of flexibility” it was aiming for, and that it will instead allow merchants to use their own checkout systems while it focuses on product discovery.
What’s new with shopping in ChatGPT?
With the latest update, OpenAI is implementing this new approach. Instead of handling everything within ChatGPT, the chatbot now focuses on helping users browse Shopify-powered brand storefronts and complete purchases within those experiences.
In its announcement, Shopify says merchants can create “agentic storefronts” that plug into ChatGPT, making their products discoverable and purchasable within conversations. In practice, this means you can ask ChatGPT for recommendations, explore a brand’s catalog, and complete purchases via an in-app browser.
The shift gives retailers more control over their storefronts while still letting them tap into ChatGPT for product discovery. As such, OpenAI is now positioning ChatGPT as a discovery and shopping assistant rather than a full-fledged checkout platform.
Alongside Shopify brands, retailers like Target, Sephora, and Nordstrom also support ChatGPT’s new product discovery experience. It’s set to roll out to all ChatGPT free, Go, Plus, and Pro users this week.
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