In late September 2025, OpenAI made a move that could reshape how people shop online. The company announced that U.S. users can now discover, browse, and purchase products directly inside ChatGPT. No more clicking out to a retailer’s site — the entire journey, from discovery to checkout, happens in one chat thread.
The rollout is powered by a co-development with Stripe and starts with Etsy as the first integration, with Shopify “coming soon.” Instant Checkout makes it possible for shoppers to select items and pay in just a few taps.
For brands, this signals something bigger than a new channel. It’s a turning point in the evolution of AI in eCommerce.
From Chat to Checkout: How It Works
The new capability turns ChatGPT from a search-and-answer assistant into a transactional platform. Here’s what’s changed:
- Product discovery in chat: Instead of generating a list of links, ChatGPT can surface relevant products with details and pricing.
- Instant checkout: Users can add an item to their cart and pay using Stripe without leaving the app.
- Relevance-based ranking: Results are ranked within the thread, creating a shopping flow similar to browsing on a retailer’s site.
- Integrations with major platforms: Etsy is live today, Shopify is next in line, and more marketplaces are likely to follow.
What used to be a jumping off point has now become a potential end destination.
Why This Matters for eCommerce
Generative AI has already been reshaping the discovery process, with thousands of consumers using AI search instead of Google to ask product-related questions. Now, with transactions built in, platforms like ChatGPT are becoming a closed-loop commerce channel.
This has three key implications:
- Shift in consumer behavior
Shoppers no longer need to open a browser, compare results across multiple retailers, or navigate an entire eCommerce site. Instead, they can ask a conversational query (“find me a handmade leather wallet under $75”) and complete the purchase within seconds. - New competition for visibility
Just as brands have long optimized for search engine rankings, they now face the challenge of appearing in AI-generated product results. If your product doesn’t make it into that first conversational answer, you may lose the sale to a competitor. - Acceleration of “walled gardens”
As ChatGPT and other AI platforms add more integrations, they risk creating ecosystems where discovery, decision-making, and purchase all stay within the assistant. That may reduce organic site visits while increasing pressure on brands to optimize for AI-driven visibility.
Where AI in eCommerce Is Headed
The rapid expansion of AI-powered shopping features signals that adoption will likely accelerate. Additionally, several trends are starting to take shape:
- Higher conversion rates: AI queries tend to be intent-rich and specific, which could drive stronger conversion rates than traditional search traffic.
- New ad models: Just as Google monetized search, AI assistants may experiment with sponsored product placements inside chat results.
- Pressure on traditional SEO: With more consumers buying directly through AI assistants, visibility strategies will need to evolve beyond Google rankings.
AI commerce is no longer experimental. It’s here, and those who adapt early will be positioned to capture the shift in shopper behavior.
What Brands Should Do Now: Improving Visibility to AI Agents
If generative AI becomes both the recommender and the transaction platform, the rules of visibility are changing. Here are practical steps brands should take now.
1. Optimize Site Performance
AI crawlers, like human shoppers, perform better on fast, stable sites. Sites that load slowly or break often risk being deprioritized in rankings — and they also frustrate any shoppers who do click through. A performance-first site helps ensure your content is accessible and your products are discoverable.
2. Update and Structure Content Clearly
AI assistants depend on HTML, not hidden scripts, to interpret content. Product descriptions, pricing, shipping details, and return policies should be in clear text, not buried in JavaScript. Structured data and schema markup also make it easier for AI agents to understand what you sell.
3. Be Discoverable by Good Bots
Some retailers still block bots across the board, but in the era of AI commerce, that strategy can backfire. Instead, allow reputable agents while keeping malicious traffic out. This helps ensure your site’s data is included in legitimate AI-generated results.
4. Maintain Freshness
AI tools favor recent information. Refreshing product pages, updating seasonal collections, and republishing optimized content helps keep your site relevant in AI search. Forrester predicts AI-referred traffic could exceed 20% of total organic by the end of 2025, and freshness is a critical factor.
5. Build Domain Authority
External mentions, backlinks, and brand credibility remain important. Generative AI relies on signals of authority when deciding which sources to surface. This makes PR placements, reviews, and thought leadership even more valuable — not just for SEO, but for AI visibility.
A Broader Mindset Shift: Treat AI as Both Shopper and Search Engine
Traditionally, brands have optimized for two audiences: the human shopper and the search engine. With the surge of AI in eCommerce, those two are converging. The AI assistant is both the buyer (deciding what to recommend and how to present it) and the search engine (ranking options and filtering results).
This means optimizing for AI isn’t just a technical exercise. It demands clarity so agents can quickly interpret site content, speed so data loads cleanly and experiences remain seamless, authority to signal that your brand is trustworthy, and consistency across product feeds, on-site details, and metadata.
The brands that get this right will capture the high-intent, AI-driven shopper.
Prepare for the AI Shopping Era
ChatGPT’s new in-app transactions mark a milestone in how generative AI intersects with commerce. For the first time, discovery, decision-making, and purchase all live in one conversational interface.
For eCommerce leaders, the path forward is clear. Optimize for performance, structure your content for AI readability, keep information fresh, and ensure your brand is easy for legitimate bots to access. These steps not only improve your rankings in traditional search but also ensure your brand is visible where the next wave of buyers is making decisions — inside AI assistants.
