Is ChatGPT Turning Into a Shopping Platform?

Even though AI has been a really hot topic for the last three years, one thing everyone’s been asking – that till recently has not been directly answered – is, “can you buy through AI engines?” 

Or rather, a better question should have been, “why can’t you buy through AI engines?” 

Well, now you can. ChatGPT’s new Instant Checkout feature and partnership with big retailers like Walmart is going to have a big mark on eCommerce moving forward. Here are some of the big things you should know. 

Can You Buy Directly Through ChatGPT?

In short, yes, you can buy directly through ChatGPT, though that is a relatively recent development. 

According to OpenAI, the parent of ChatGPT, more than 700 million people use the platform weekly. Most of them use ChatGPT like a digital assistant, bouncing questions and ideas off of it, but many of them doubtless are looking for places to make purchases. 

ChatGPT’s new “Instant Checkout” feature, which is powered by what they call “Agentic Commerce Protocol,” has been built in partnership with Stripe, and now makes it possible to shop directly through the platform, without having to navigate externally to a separate search engine or website. 

At the moment, Instant Checkout only supports purchases of single items, but OpenAI has plans to change that. Users can shop through hundreds of Etsy and Shopify stores, with more partnerships slated. In fact, OpenAI is open-sourcing its “Agentic Commerce,” so that more retailers can start building integrations with their platforms. Soon, it seems you’ll be able to use ChatGPT to shop directly across a wide range of eCommerce platforms and sources.

What’s more, you don’t need to be a Plus or Pro user to buy through ChatGPT; Free users can do so as well, at the present time.

For most shoppers, what this means is convenience. Now, ChatGPT won’t just be good for serving you personalized recommendations based on what you’re looking for. Now you can actually buy that recommendation in just a few clicks, right through the platform.

ChatGPT has also announced a direct partnership with Walmart. According to Walmart’s CEO, the goal here is to personalize the shopping experience. They want to get away from search, and cultivate a more curated shopping experience rather than just furnishing a list of potential options in response to a user prompt. 

How Instant Checkout Works 

The cool thing about ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout is that, in this role, ChatGPT, only plays the role of an intercessor, hence the name “Agentic Commerce.” 

It will serve outputs based on relevance to the user’s query, and existing ChatGPT users can checkout, right in the chat window, using their credit card and other specifics on file. 

Otherwise, the eCommerce merchant just fills the order as usual. The only difference is that it would come through as an order shuttled over by ChatGPT, rather than as an order arising from a session on the eCommerce website itself. 

It is also the case that, at this time, ChatGPT is ranking products only by relevance, sort of like how it works in SEO. The platform will not rank outputs according to price, promotion, or other factors – so this is pure AEO in motion here. 

This is very convenient for online shoppers, but it also has some pretty significant implications for eCommerce merchants. While no one can predict the future (even myself) this might have some consequences for conventional marketing, especially search engine marketing. 

With online shoppers poised to let their AI-powered digital assistants do their shopping for them, it’s conceivable, even reasonable to assume that they will rely less on PPC and search engine optimization as the vehicles to get them in front of what they want.

What This Might Mean for eCommerce Merchants Moving Forward 

There are some big takeaways from this development. Going forward, it may be the case that online shoppers no longer even open up other windows outside their ChatGPT bubble. They can now ask for recommendations and complete the purchase all in one place. 

The most glaring potential here is that this may take away some action from search engines. Currently, Google’s traffic utterly overshadows ChatGPT’s usership, but as anyone in digital marketing can tell you, the landscape is constantly evolving. 

Even if ChatGPT doesn’t cannibalize any of Google’s traffic in the long run (which, to be fair, is nearly inconceivable), this does mean that AEO is going to become critically important for eCommerce merchants. In fact, it already is. 

The good news is that what has worked in the recent past for SEO works for AEO. If your SEO strategy is content-heavy and working currently, it should benefit you through answer engines. Regardless of any integrations that ChatGPT is performing, if it pulls your products from your website as recommendations, it’s only a matter of time before you can sell through the platform. 

And even if you can’t, if ChatGPT features your products, you have a far better chance of generating conversions than some competitor that ChatGPT is not recommending. 

Immediate Action Items for eCommerce Merchants 

It seems clear from this recent development that AI engines are going to take a more prominent role in eCommerce in the near future. While the specifics of this initiatives are anyone’s guess, including mine, there are some things eCommerce merchants can do to hedge their bets and at least to help ensure they are well positioned if AI engines “take over” the eCommerce landscape. 

• Update all product page and category page copy in accordance with all AEO best practices.
• Listen to what your customers are saying or asking, and refresh your product copy accordingly. 
• Update your product feed and scrub your website of any broken links that could harm technical SEO or AEO.
• Pay attention to tools, updates, and projected integrations relevant to AI eCommerce. Being ahead of these trends in AI can bring you more visibility and traffic if you’re among the first to adopt them.
• Implement structured data if you haven’t done so already. 
• Update your copy to be more conversational, where possible.
• If you haven’t yet, apply through ChatGPT to sign up for Instant Checkout through Agentic Commerce Protocol.

What About Other Answer Engines? 

Considering the fact that OpenAI is moving in this direction, you might be wondering if other AI models will do the same. Right now, to my knowledge, there are no such developments. For instance, you cannot currently buy directly through Gemini, although Gemini is integrated with several tools that support the overall online shopping experience. Google has also not formally made any announcements (to my knowledge, per my research) that Gemini will offer a fully integrated shopping experience anytime soon – but that doesn’t mean it won’t happen. The best you can do is be ready ahead of time.