ChatGPT Integrates Shopping: Buy Products Directly in Your Chat Conversations!
Imagine chatting with ChatGPT and, on a whim, buying that quirky ceramic vase your friend would adore, all without leaving the conversation. Well, that's becoming a reality! OpenAI is rolling out "Instant Checkout," a feature that lets you purchase directly from Etsy sellers within your ChatGPT chats.
It's initially available to ChatGPT Pro, Plus, and Free users in the U.S. buying from Etsy sellers. More than a million Shopify merchants, including popular brands like Glossier and Skims, are also in line to integrate this. I think it will impact the way e-commerce works.
This isn't just about convenience; it could seriously shake up the e-commerce landscape. Think about it: For years, Google and Amazon have been the kings of product discovery, deciding what you see and often favoring their own products.
However, if more people start shopping through AI chatbots, companies like OpenAI could become the new gatekeepers. They'd have more control over what products get attention and what fees merchants pay. OpenAI claims its product recommendations are purely based on relevance and that they'll charge a small fee for purchases. But if you ask me, only time will tell if this is the case.
To further expand its influence, OpenAI is open-sourcing its Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), the tech behind Instant Checkout. This means other developers can integrate agentic checkout into their platforms. Stripe's president, Will Gaybrick, believes this will create new AI-powered experiences for millions.
Now, I know some people might be wary of sharing payment information with ChatGPT. But the company assures us that orders, payments, and fulfillment are handled by the merchants themselves. ChatGPT simply acts as a secure intermediary.
This move could position OpenAI as a major player in the AI commerce ecosystem. It's not the only player in the game, though. Google recently launched its own Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), so it's definetely a battlefield for who will control the future of the e-commerce experience using AI.
Source: TechCrunch