As a leading AI application globally, ChatGPT has helped millions of users find ideal shopping choices. Now, it will further simplify the entire purchasing process. OpenAI recently announced the launch of the "Instant Checkout" feature, allowing users to purchase single items directly within the chat interface without having to navigate to links or browsers. This innovation marks the arrival of the AI agent commerce era, which will completely reshape the online shopping experience.
Details of the Instant Checkout Feature
Instant Checkout
Powered by the "Agentic Commerce Protocol," developed in collaboration between OpenAI and payment giant Stripe. This protocol is an open standard that allows AI agents, users, and merchants to seamlessly collaborate on transactions. It ensures the security, simplicity, and compatibility of transactions, supporting multiple payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Stripe, or directly entering credit card information.
Currently, this feature is only available to users in the United States, applicable to free, Plus, and Pro subscription plans of ChatGPT, and initially supports only single-item purchases.
In the future, it will expand to multi-item shopping carts and international markets. Users just need to input queries such as "recommend gifts under $50 for coffee lovers" or "hiking boots under $150 for me," and the AI will recommend matching products and provide a "Buy" button directly. After confirming shipping and payment information, users can complete the transaction with one click. ChatGPT acts as a "digital personal shopping advisor," securely transferring user information to the merchant's backend, while the merchant handles orders, payments, logistics, and customer service as usual.
Launch Platform and Merchant Support
The instant checkout feature initially supports Etsy sellers in the United States, allowing users to purchase from these handmade and unique product platforms directly. Subsequently, it will be integrated with over a million Shopify merchants, including well-known brands such as Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori. This expansion will open up new sales channels for these merchants, especially within the vast ecosystem of ChatGPT, which has more than 700 million weekly active users.
OpenAI emphasized that product recommendations are based on factors such as relevance, availability, price, and quality, rather than sponsored advertising, to optimize the user experience. Etsy and Shopify both stated that this feature will bring "seamless commerce" opportunities. Merchants will pay a small fee per completed transaction, but no additional hardware or complex integration is required—those already using Stripe to process payments can simply enable it with one line of code.
Open-Sourcing the Agentic Commerce Protocol to Help Industry Ecosystems
To accelerate innovation, OpenAI has open-sourced the Agentic Commerce Protocol, allowing more merchants and developers to use it for free. The protocol is not limited to e-commerce and can also be extended to other payment scenarios, such as service subscriptions or virtual goods transactions. Based on Stripe's 15 years of payment infrastructure experience, it ensures compatibility across AI platforms and supports integrations with non-Stripe payment providers. This will lower the development barrier and promote "agentic commerce" from concept to reality.
Far-Reaching Impact on the E-commerce Landscape
This release directly challenges traditional e-commerce models, such as jumping to shopping sites after a Google search. OpenAI's business head said that shopping-related queries account for a "significant proportion" of user interactions, and instant checkout will make ChatGPT more practical, helping users efficiently complete "real-world tasks." For merchants, it means reaching a massive AI user base, while OpenAI gains a new revenue source through transaction fees. As AI becomes deeply embedded in daily life, instant checkout may become a benchmark in e-commerce.
