OpenAI is moving from recommendations to transactions. The company introduced Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, a new flow that lets people buy products without leaving the conversation. The feature is powered by an open standard called the Agentic Commerce Protocol, co-developed with Stripe, and debuts today for U.S. ChatGPT Free, Plus, and Pro users.
From chat to purchase in a few taps
When a user asks for ideas—say, “best running shoes under $100” or “gifts for a ceramics lover”—ChatGPT returns organic, unsponsored product results ranked on relevance. If an item supports Instant Checkout, a Buy button appears. Users confirm shipping and payment details in-chat and complete the order. Existing subscribers can pay with the card on file; other card and express options are supported too.
Behind the scenes, merchants process orders with their existing systems: they accept or decline, capture payment, ship, and handle returns/support as usual. Instant Checkout is free for users and doesn’t change pricing or boost placement; merchants pay a small fee only on completed purchases.
Where you can shop today—and what’s next
At launch, ChatGPT can buy directly from U.S. Etsy sellers in chat. Support for over a million Shopify merchants—including brands like Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori—is “coming soon.” The first release handles single-item purchases; multi-item carts, more merchants, and additional regions are on the roadmap.
The Agentic Commerce Protocol, open-sourced
The connective tissue is the Agentic Commerce Protocol, an open specification that lets AI agents, people, and businesses exchange the structured messages needed to complete a purchase. It aims to:
- Work across platforms and processors (not just Stripe).
- Integrate quickly without forcing merchants to rewire backends.
- Keep merchants as the merchant of record, preserving the customer relationship across fulfillment, returns, and support.
When an order is placed, ChatGPT sends only the necessary order details to the merchant via the protocol. Payments run through the merchant’s existing provider. Merchants using Stripe can enable “agentic payments” with as little as one line of code. Others can participate by using Stripe’s new Shared Payment Token API or adopting the protocol’s Delegated Payments Spec—without switching processors.
OpenAI is publishing the spec and docs so developers and platforms can build integrations now; merchants can apply to make products purchasable through ChatGPT.
Built for trust and control
The company frames Instant Checkout as opt-in at every step:
- User confirmation is required before any action.
- Encrypted payment tokens are authorized only for specific amounts and merchants.
- Data sharing is minimal, limited to what’s needed to fulfill the order, and done with permission.
Why it matters
ChatGPT already guides 700+ million people each week through everyday tasks, including product discovery. Instant Checkout turns that moment of intent into a purchase flow—without tab-hopping—while keeping merchants in control of payments, systems, and customer relationships. For brands, it opens a new channel to reach a massive audience inside the chat interface many consumers now use to research and decide.
OpenAI calls this “just the start” of agentic commerce: as AI becomes a primary interface for discovery and decision-making, a shared protocol could let many AI agents, storefronts, and payment stacks interoperate—bringing the checkout to wherever the conversation happens.
