ChatGPT Checkout is changing e-commerce: Here’s what you need to know

On September 29, 2025, OpenAI released a feature that might just change how we sell things online for good. They announced that people can now buy products directly from inside a ChatGPT conversation. This is way more than just a new "buy" button. It’s a serious move into e-commerce, kicking off with partnerships with Stripe, Etsy, and plans to include over a million Shopify merchants soon.

This new ChatGPT checkout system hints at a big shift toward what people are calling "conversational commerce." That’s a fancy way of saying the entire shopping trip, from "I wonder what to buy" to "thanks for your order," can happen in one chat window.

Let’s break down what this feature actually is, how it works, and what it really means for anyone running an online store or a support team.

What is the ChatGPT checkout feature?

This new setup isn’t just one thing; it’s a combination of what the user sees and the complex tech working in the background to make it all happen. Let’s look at the two main parts.

Instant checkout explained

Instant Checkout is the part you’ll actually see and use. It’s a secure payment form, powered by Stripe, that pops up right in the middle of your ChatGPT conversation. For shoppers, this is a huge win. You can ask for a recommendation, find something you like, and buy it in a couple of taps without ever jumping to another website, digging for your credit card, and typing in your address again.

It’s currently rolling out to users in the U.S. for buying single items from Etsy sellers, but the big wave is coming when it opens up to Shopify merchants.

The Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) explained

The magic happening behind the scenes is something called the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP). Think of it as a universal translator that lets an AI (like ChatGPT), a merchant’s store, and a payment system all speak the same language securely. It was developed by OpenAI and Stripe together, and its whole purpose is to let an AI make a purchase on your behalf while making sure the merchant is still the one in control of their inventory, payments, and customer info.

They made the protocol open-source, which is a big deal. It means they’re hoping everyone adopts it, so eventually this could work with any AI assistant or payment processor, not just the OpenAI and Stripe ecosystem.

How does the ChatGPT checkout work in practice?

It’s one thing to talk about protocols and tech, but what does this feel like for an actual customer and a store owner? Let’s walk through it.

The customer experience

The whole process is designed to be ridiculously smooth. Here’s a typical scenario:

1. You start by asking a shopping question. It could be anything from "what are the best running shoes under $100?" to "I need a housewarming gift for a friend who loves plants."

2. ChatGPT does its thing, browses the web, and comes back with a list of products it thinks are a good fit. OpenAI is making it clear that these results are organic, not paid ads.

3. For any products from stores that are part of the program, a "Buy" button will show up right next to the recommendation.

4. When you tap "Buy," a secure pop-up appears. You confirm your shipping address and payment details (it can use a card you have on file or other methods like Apple Pay).

5. You hit confirm, and that’s it. The purchase is done. You get a confirmation right there in the chat, plus the standard order confirmation email from the merchant, just as if you’d bought it on their site.

This video demonstrates a real-time example of a user successfully purchasing a candle using the new Instant Checkout feature inside ChatGPT.

OpenAI has been quick to point out that the user is always in the driver’s seat and has to approve every step. The AI isn’t about to go on a shopping spree with your money, for now at least.

The merchant experience

For sellers, the big draw is getting access to a new sales channel without having to tear down their current setup. Here’s how it looks from your side of the counter:

• No big changes: You keep using your existing e-commerce platform for fulfilling orders, handling returns, and managing customer support.

• Easy integration: When an order is placed through ChatGPT, the ACP protocol sends all the details securely over to your store’s backend.

• Payment flexibility: You process the payment with your current provider. If you’re already using Stripe, getting set up could be as easy as adding one line of code. If not, you can still get in on the action.

• Affiliate-style fees: Merchants pay OpenAI a small fee for sales that come through the platform. OpenAI says this fee won’t affect how products are ranked and won’t be passed on to the customer.

In short, ChatGPT just becomes another place where people can buy your stuff, while you handle all the important post-purchase work the same way you always have.

What ChatGPT checkout means for the future of online shopping

This is about much more than just a convenient button in a chatbot. It could really shake up how digital commerce works.

A new ‘front door’ for e-commerce

For as long as most of us can remember, online shopping has started at one of two places: a search engine like Google or a marketplace like Amazon. ChatGPT is trying to become a third front door, one that’s built around conversation and personalization. It erases the line between doing research and actually buying, creating one smooth journey that starts with a question and ends with a package on your doorstep. This is what "conversational commerce" is all about.

The challenge to Google and Amazon

Let’s be blunt: the ChatGPT checkout model is a direct shot at Google’s main business model. Google makes its money when you click on an ad and leave its site to go to a merchant’s page. ChatGPT wants to keep you inside the chat for the whole ride, taking a small piece of the sale instead of charging for the click. If people start preferring this all-in-one experience, it could pull a lot of valuable shopping-related searches away from Google.

Amazon’s position as the world’s product search engine could also take a hit. Instead of scrolling through pages of listings and sponsored products on Amazon, you could just ask ChatGPT for a handful of recommendations that are perfect for you.

Concerns for brands and retailers

While this all sounds exciting, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Brands have some real concerns. As outlets like Digiday have pointed out, there’s a nagging fear this could turn into a "pay-to-play" world. OpenAI says results are organic now, but what about in the future? Will brands that enable Instant Checkout or offer a bigger fee get better placement?

And maybe the biggest question of all: who owns the customer? When a third-party AI is handling the entire discovery and buying process, it gets a little fuzzy. This is a huge deal for brands that have worked for years to build a direct relationship with their customers.

Preparing your customer support for conversational commerce

This shift has some pretty big implications for customer service teams. When the border between selling and supporting disappears, your tools have to be ready.

The new blend of sales and support

When your storefront is a conversation, customers are going to expect answers in that same conversation. Questions about product details, shipping times, and stock levels will mix right in with post-sale questions like "Where’s my order?" or "How do I make a return?" They won’t want to hunt for a contact form or send an email. They’ll expect good answers, right away, in the same place they just clicked "buy."

Why your standard chatbot isn’t ready

Here’s the catch: most e-commerce chatbots are working with incomplete information. The bot on your website might know your FAQ articles inside and out, but does it know what’s actually in your Shopify catalog? Can it check a customer’s order history in your help desk? Can it find that one obscure return policy you have saved in an internal Confluence doc?

Probably not. And that leads to those frustrating moments where the bot gives up and says, "Let me get a human for you," which slows things down for the customer and costs you more money.

How eesel AI unifies your knowledge for seamless support

This new world of conversational commerce is exactly what eesel AI is built for. Instead of letting another platform control the conversation, you can build your own powerful AI experiences.

With eesel AI, you can pull all your scattered business knowledge together into one smart, central brain. You can connect your Shopify store, your Zendesk help center, past support tickets, and even internal docs from places like Google Docs or Confluence. This lets you:

An image showing the eesel AI platform connecting to various business apps like Shopify, Zendesk, and Confluence to create a unified knowledge base for handling ChatGPT checkout related queries.

• Deploy a powerful AI Chatbot: Put a chatbot on your site that can answer detailed pre-sale questions because it has live access to your product catalog and help articles.

• Automate support with an AI Agent: Build an AI agent that lives inside your help desk and can handle post-sale questions on its own. It can look up order details, check on inventory, and even process returns using custom actions.

• Stay in complete control: With the ChatGPT model, you’re playing in their sandbox. With eesel AI, you own the whole experience. You decide what your AI sounds like, you control exactly what information it uses, and you design the customer journey from start to finish. You don’t have to hand over your brand’s voice to someone else.

An image of the eesel AI settings, showing how businesses can customize the AI's behavior and set up guardrails, ensuring full control over customer interactions related to the ChatGPT checkout experience.

The takeaway: Embrace conversational commerce and ChatGPT checkout with the right tools

The ChatGPT checkout feature is more than just a new piece of tech; it’s a flashing sign pointing to where e-commerce is headed. The line between shopping and support is dissolving, and customers are going to expect one simple, conversational experience.

To do well in this new environment, you need a platform that can bring all your business knowledge together to provide smart, instant answers across the entire customer journey. That’s exactly what eesel AI does. It gives you the power to build a ChatGPT-level experience that is 100% yours, letting you get started in minutes and connect all of your business knowledge instantly.

Ready to get your support team ready for the age of conversational commerce? Try eesel AI for free and build an AI agent that truly knows your business.