Briefly: OpenAI launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT – purchase directly in chat. Currently, it is available only for users in the USA and with U.S. merchants (Etsy live, Shopify "coming soon"), but merchants from other countries can already sign up and prepare integrations. Orders, payments, and delivery are still processed by the merchant in their systems; ChatGPT acts as an "AI shopping agent" between the customer and the e-shop. OpenAI+1
How ChatGPT Shopping Works
- Organic Product Results: when a user asks about products (e.g., "gift for a pottery lover"), ChatGPT displays relevant items from the web. The results are not sponsored and Instant Checkout does not have a ranking preference. When there are multiple sellers of the same product, ChatGPT considers availability, price, quality, whether the seller is primary, and if Instant Checkout is enabled. OpenAI+1
- Shopping in Chat: if a product is "Instant Checkout-ready", the customer confirms the order, shipping, and payment in chat. Payment can be completed with a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Link by Stripe. OpenAI+1
- Who Does What: orders, payments, and fulfillment are handled by the merchant in their existing systems; ChatGPT only securely transfers the data. Merchants pay a small fee for completed purchases; the service is free for users and does not affect the ranking of results. OpenAI
"The merchant accepts or declines the order, processes the payment via their existing provider, and handles fulfillment and customer support exactly as they do today." OpenAI
Availability of ChatGPT Shopping Today
- Live in the USA: U.S. ChatGPT (Free, Plus, Pro) can shop from U.S. Etsy sellers; Shopify and others are coming soon. The goal is to expand to other regions next year. OpenAI+1
- You can sign up now (even outside the USA): the merchant form is open and asks about the country of residence. ChatGPT
Two Levels of Engagement
1. Visibility Only (feed into ChatGPT search)
You provide a product feed (TSV/CSV/XML/JSON) according to the specification and your products can appear in organic results. OpenAI Developers+1
2. Also Shopping in Chat (Instant Checkout via ACP)
You implement the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) – an open standard from OpenAI + Stripe – which allows ChatGPT to create/update checkout sessions and pass data to you for processing. Payments remain with your PSP; OpenAI is not the merchant of record. OpenAI Developers
Prepare for ChatGPT Shopping in 3 Steps
1. Sign up as a merchant
Fill out the application at chatgpt.com/merchants (accepted on a rolling basis; currently live only in the USA, but with plans for expansion). ChatGPT
2. Create a product feed
According to the Product Feed Spec: mandatory fields (identifiers, name, description, price + currency, availability, image, inventory), recommended fields improve relevance. Send the feed via HTTPS, updates up to every 15 minutes. OpenAI Developers
3. Prepare for the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)
- Agentic Checkout: ChatGPT collects data (buyer, delivery, payment), calls your ACP endpoints, you validate, calculate taxes/shipping, assess risk, and accept/decline the order. OpenAI Developers
- Delegated Payment: payment data is securely shared with your PSP (first ready solution: Stripe Shared Payment Token). You remain with your processor. OpenAI Developers
- PCI Note: Product Feed and Agentic Checkout specifications are outside PCI scope (no cardholder data flows through them). Direct card forwarding or custom implementation of Delegated Payment may change the PCI scope. OpenAI Developers
Bonus: If you are on Shopify or Etsy, you are "eligible" without custom integration (for Instant Checkout, OpenAI will onboard you). ChatGPT
