ChatGPT direct purchase Shopify: The ultimate 2025 guide for merchants

If you’re running a Shopify store, you’ve probably seen the news: OpenAI and Shopify have partnered up. This could really change how customers find and buy your products. It’s a big deal for e-commerce, so let’s break down what it actually means for you.

The idea is pretty straightforward. Shoppers can now buy your products right inside a ChatGPT conversation, without ever visiting your website. It’s about as seamless as shopping can get.

In this guide, we’ll give you a clear, no-fluff look at this new feature. We’ll cover what it is, the clear upsides, and some of the hidden trade-offs. The goal is to help you think about how to use conversational commerce for your brand without losing control.

What is the ChatGPT direct purchase Shopify feature?

Basically, this new feature (officially called "Instant Checkout") turns ChatGPT into a personal shopper. It’s built to connect the moment someone discovers a product with the moment they buy it, all in the same chat window.

Here’s how it works for a customer:

1. Someone asks ChatGPT a shopping question, like, "Find me a waterproof running jacket under $150" or "I need a unique gift for a friend who loves ceramics."

2. Instead of just getting a list of links, ChatGPT shows them actual products from Shopify stores that fit the bill.

3. If they see something they like, they can hit a "Buy" button right in the conversation.

4. The whole purchase happens inside ChatGPT. Payment and shipping info are handled automatically in the background.

OpenAI says the product results are organic and based on how relevant they are to what the person asked. But, and this is a big but, merchants get charged a "small fee" for every sale. The upside is that this puts millions of Shopify products in front of ChatGPT’s huge audience, creating a brand-new way to make sales.

The opportunity: Reaching new customers

There’s no denying it, this is a big opportunity. Getting in early could pay off. You’re essentially meeting customers exactly where they are, the moment they decide they want something.

Get in front of a huge audience

The number of people using ChatGPT is staggering. CNBC reported it has over 700 million weekly users. That’s a giant pool of potential customers already asking questions and looking for recommendations. This feature lets you step in at the perfect moment and turn a question into a sale.

The incredibly simple checkout

Think about how people buy from you now. They might see an ad, click to your site, look at a product, add it to their cart, and then go through the checkout. There are so many places they can get distracted and leave. The ChatGPT purchase flow gets rid of nearly all those steps. No new tabs, no redirects, no typing in their address for the tenth time. That kind of convenience can make a real difference in turning browsers into buyers.

Look like an innovator

Besides the sales, this is also a great branding move. Being one of the first stores to sell through ChatGPT makes your brand look modern and savvy. It shows you get where things are headed with AI helping people shop. It’s a good way to show you’re ahead of the curve.

The catch: What you give up

As exciting as this all sounds, it’s not the full picture. Anytime you sell on someone else’s platform, there are trade-offs. It’s really important to know what you’re getting into.

You lose control of the experience

When a customer buys from you in ChatGPT, the whole thing happens inside OpenAI’s world. Your website design, your brand’s voice, the whole vibe you’ve worked to create, it all gets skipped. That first impression belongs to OpenAI, not you.

You still make the sale, but you miss out on starting a direct relationship with the customer. This is completely different from having an AI chatbot on your own site. A tool like eesel AI means every chat happens on your turf, in your brand’s voice, looking exactly how you want it to.

Vague fees and zero customization

That "small fee" is deliberately vague, isn’t it? This means you have an unpredictable cost that cuts into your margins, and it gets bigger the more you sell. A great month could come with a surprisingly large bill.

On top of that, you have no say in the AI’s personality or how it answers tricky questions. What if a customer asks a detailed question about sizing before they buy, or needs help with an order afterward? It’s not clear how, or if, that gets handled.

This is where having your own tool makes a huge difference. For example, the AI chatbot from eesel gives you a ton of control. You can set its exact tone of voice, tell it to only learn from your help docs and product info, and set up custom actions. It can pass a chat to a human agent, look up an order status using its Shopify integration, or answer the kind of specific questions a generic AI just fumbles.

A screenshot showing how an on-site AI tool can be trained on specific company data, a key difference from the generic ChatGPT direct purchase Shopify feature.

You’re at the mercy of the algorithm

As a merchant, you have no idea why ChatGPT might show your product instead of a competitor’s. OpenAI mentions things like "availability, price, quality," but at the end of the day, it’s their algorithm. You can’t optimize for it or do anything to improve your chances.

Your product discovery is completely in their hands. It’s a bit like relying only on Google or Amazon for traffic, but with even less information about how the system works.

A better way: Build your own AI strategy

Using other platforms to get discovered is a good idea, but the best and most profitable customer chats will always happen on your own website. When you build your own AI strategy, you get all the good parts of conversational commerce without having to give up control.

Why an on-site chatbot is more valuable

An AI chatbot on your website works for you around the clock. It can chat with every visitor, answer questions in seconds, point them to the right product, and help boost your conversion rates. Think of it as a sales assistant, support agent, and product expert all in one.

And setting one up doesn’t have to take months. With a platform like eesel AI, you can be up and running in minutes. You can connect your Shopify store, help docs, and other info with a single click to create an AI assistant that knows your business inside and out.

It does more than just talk

A good AI chatbot does more than just answer questions, it actually does things. That’s the real difference between using someone else’s platform and a tool you control. You can set up automated tasks that fit your exact business needs, for everything from sales to support.

This video explains how the new ChatGPT direct purchase Shopify feature is set to become a game-changer for e-commerce.

A quick note on pricing

The pay-per-sale model that ChatGPT uses can make your costs unpredictable. Your expenses go up and down with your sales, which makes it tough to budget.

That’s why a predictable price matters. When you know exactly what you’re paying each month, you can grow your business without worrying about surprise bills. For example, eesel AI’s pricing is a simple flat monthly fee based on interactions. There are no hidden fees for each sale or support ticket you resolve. This means you don’t get punished for having a busy month. You can start with a flexible plan and cancel anytime, which gives you way more control.

Do conversational commerce your way

The partnership between Shopify and ChatGPT proves one thing: conversational commerce is here to stay. It’s an exciting new way for people to find your products, and it will definitely drive sales.

But it comes with real downsides when it comes to controlling your brand, owning your customer data, and managing costs. A smart approach could be to use both. Use platforms like ChatGPT to get in front of new people, but focus on building your own AI experience on your website. That’s where you can build real customer relationships and have a healthier bottom line.

Don’t just sell through AI, build your brand with it. If you want to see how easy it is to add a smart, on-brand AI chatbot to your own Shopify store, you can try eesel AI for free.