Online Shopping Is Coming to ChatGPT — And It Could Reshape E-Commerce As We Know It
Online shopping is about to become radically more commercial — and surprisingly insidious.
OpenAI is working on a feature that will let users browse, compare, and purchase products entirely within ChatGPT. Instead of clicking through external links or switching to an e-commerce site, you’ll soon be able to finalize your shopping — from search to checkout, all in a chat window.
Yes, ChatGPT is turning into a store. But this shift isn’t just about convenience. It represents something much bigger: the fusion of artificial intelligence, commerce to exploit human behaviour.
From Recommendations to Transactions: What’s Changing
ChatGPT has already become a go-to assistant for decision-making. People rely on it to research products, find alternatives, compare features, and even summarize reviews. Until now, those interactions would typically end in a list of product links pointing to third-party websites.
But OpenAI is building something more direct — a built-in checkout system that removes the need to ever leave the chat. You’d be able to ask, refine your preferences, and buy, all in a single session. This isn’t a mockup — it’s already in development.
To make this happen, OpenAI is collaborating with Shopify, a platform known for powering frictionless checkouts across platforms like TikTok. Shopify’s infrastructure will support order handling and payments, while OpenAI focuses on the interface and experience. Brands will still fulfill the orders, but OpenAI will take a cut from each sale.
The Business Behind the Feature
Despite its massive growth and valuation, OpenAI remains unprofitable. Its main revenue streams come from premium ChatGPT subscriptions and enterprise licensing. But monetizing commerce directly within the chat could open up a scalable, high-margin opportunity, especially for the huge base of free users.
Under the new model:
- Brands and merchants pay a commission fee to OpenAI for each completed transaction.
- The checkout lives inside ChatGPT, minimizing user drop-off.
- OpenAI controls the shopping journey and, increasingly, the shopping intent.
This could set the stage for an entirely new monetization model: one that doesn’t rely on ads or subscriptions, but on everyday decisions users already make in the app.
AI: The New Gateway to E-Commerce?
Right now, product discovery is dominated by search engines and marketplaces. You Google something, click on a few links, maybe compare prices on Amazon, maybe bounce to a few other retailers. It’s functional, but fragmented.
ChatGPT, on the other hand, offers a streamlined, conversation-based flow. Ask a natural-language question — “What are some stylish, weatherproof jackets under $250?” — and get curated suggestions tailored to your preferences and budget. Add memory to the mix, and now it remembers what you like. It starts to feel personal.
This opens the door to AI-driven shopping assistants becoming the default way people discover and buy products, especially as the AI gets smarter at understanding context, needs, and nuance.
AIO: The SEO of the AI Era
As this model matures, a new trend is emerging: Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO) — essentially, SEO for AI responses.
Marketers and brands are now thinking beyond Google rankings. Instead, they’re asking: How do we get our products surfaced by ChatGPT? How do we feed it the right metadata, pricing, and product positioning so it becomes the AI’s top recommendation?
This may create an entirely new industry — a race to craft AI-friendly product listings, optimized not for human scanners, but for AI reasoning engines.
And while OpenAI has stated it won’t accept payment to prioritize one product over another, the pressure is real. With purchase decisions happening in the chat, visibility inside ChatGPT will become just as valuable — if not more — than traditional search ads.
The Experience Still Has Limits
OpenAI has clarified that this feature is still under development. A few things are still being ironed out:
- Which variables determine product ranking (price, shipping, reputation)?
- How merchants are surfaced and rotated
- What level of personalization will be allowed
Currently, product listings rely on third-party data providers, and rankings don’t yet consider things like shipping speed or customer reviews — but that will likely evolve fast.
With memory and Operator also in play, we could see even deeper integrations: booking travel, placing orders, reserving appointments — all within a single conversation thread.
Why This Could Be a Turning Point
For the first time, users will be able to not only think through decisions with an AI but also act on them immediately, without jumping platforms. It also puts OpenAI in direct competition with companies like Google, Amazon, and traditional ad platforms. Because when AI becomes the front door to both discovery and action, the rest of the funnel starts to collapse and control flows to whoever owns the conversation.,