ChatGPT Enables Direct Shopping on Etsy and Shopify
OpenAI announced on Sept. 30, 2025 that ChatGPT users can now buy directly from Etsy sellers while Shopify merchant support is coming soon, using an "Instant Checkout" system built to work with payment‑processor Stripe. The move makes ChatGPT a virtual merchant interface, positioning OpenAI to capture online‑commerce fees and altering payment and platform dynamics for U.S. sellers and shoppers.
AI & Tech
Economy
🔍 Key Facts
- OpenAI said ChatGPT users can buy directly from Etsy sellers now; Shopify support 'soon'.
- OpenAI is working with Stripe on technical standards for the 'Instant Checkout' system.
- OpenAI stated it will rank merchants by availability, price, quality, primary‑seller status and whether Instant Checkout is enabled, and said it will not favor items in results.
📍 Contextual Background
- Amazon's "Buy for Me" feature lets shoppers request that Amazon make a purchase from a brand retailer's website on the shopper's behalf and takes customers to an Amazon checkout page to confirm order details including delivery address, applicable taxes and shipping fees, and payment method.
- Agentic commerce describes a model in which an app (for example, ChatGPT) acts as a shopper's agent by interacting with both the buyer and the seller while the merchant processes payment and fulfills the order.
- U.S. federal law Section 230 provides online platforms with broad legal protections that allow them to make content-moderation decisions without being held liable for those decisions.
- OpenAI allows users as young as 13 to sign up for ChatGPT.
- OpenAI added new parental controls to ChatGPT intended to protect young users of the platform.