The strategy is supported by OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol that brings merchant-supplied product data into AI-powered shopping journeys.
OpenAI is scaling back its ambitions to turn ChatGPT into a direct ecommerce checkout channel, instead repositioning the platform as a product discovery and comparison tool after weak uptake of its Instant Checkout feature.
The AI company is rolling out a new shopping experience within ChatGPT that allows users to search for products by uploading images or describing what they are looking for in natural language, while factoring in preferences such as budget, style, and other constraints.
As part of the update, ChatGPT will show more visual product results designed to help users compare different options more easily. OpenAI said it has improved speed, relevance, and product coverage, with results now more up to date and useful for users.
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The move marks a shift in strategy after the company’s Instant Checkout feature failed to gain traction. The feature allowed users to complete purchases directly within ChatGPT from selected retailers, including Etsy, Walmart, and Shopify.
However, challenges included merchant onboarding, maintaining accurate product data, enabling multi-item baskets, and integrating loyalty programmes.
“We’ve found that the initial version of Instant Checkout did not offer the level of flexibility that we aspire to provide, so we’re allowing merchants to use their own checkout experiences while we focus our efforts on product discovery,” the company said.
Under the updated model, merchants can share product feeds and promotions directly with OpenAI so their products are more fully represented within ChatGPT. Retailers, including Target, Sephora, and Nordstrom, are supporting the updated experience.
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Merchants can also build custom apps within ChatGPT, allowing more control over the customer journey and transaction flow.
Shopify is also updating its integration, enabling merchants to connect storefronts and complete purchases through an in-app browser. It has also introduced a service to help merchants surface products across AI-driven environments.
The shift suggests OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as a research-led shopping assistant, focused on helping users compare products, evaluate features, and make informed purchasing decisions before completing transactions elsewhere.
That strategy is supported by OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol, an open ecommerce standard developed with Stripe to bring merchant-supplied product data into AI-powered shopping journeys.
As competition grows around AI-enabled retail experiences, the company is positioning discovery, rather than checkout, as the primary role for ChatGPT in the near term.
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