What: Shopify merchants, including brands like Glossier and Steve Madden, will soon be able to sell directly through ChatGPT’s conversational interface via the new Instant Checkout feature.

Why it is important: The integration of instant checkout within ChatGPT highlights how AI platforms are becoming direct sales channels, challenging traditional e-commerce models and intensifying competition among tech giants.

OpenAI and Shopify have announced a partnership that will allow Shopify merchants to sell products directly through ChatGPT’s conversational interface using the new Instant Checkout feature. This initiative, launching first with select brands such as Glossier, Spanx, Vuori, Away, Stanley 1913, Skims, and Steve Madden, enables consumers to discover and purchase products in real time without leaving the chatbot environment. The move reflects Shopify CEO Tobias Lutke’s vision of enabling merchants to sell wherever AI conversations occur, and it positions both OpenAI and Shopify as leaders in the rapidly evolving landscape of AI-driven commerce. By embedding real-time pricing, inventory, and product images into chat, the partnership streamlines the shopping experience and creates a new revenue stream for OpenAI, while offering merchants another powerful channel for customer engagement. This development is part of a broader industry trend where conversational AI is reshaping how consumers discover and buy products, compelling retailers to rethink their digital strategies and adapt to new patterns of consumer behaviour.

IADS Notes: The partnership between OpenAI and Shopify, enabling instant checkout within ChatGPT, marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of digital commerce. As highlighted in Modern Retail (August–September 2025), this integration transforms AI platforms from research tools into direct sales channels, raising new questions about market fairness and access for smaller merchants. Forbes (September 2025) underscores the urgency for brands to adapt, as the rapid adoption of AI-driven shopping is outpacing retailer readiness, with consumer behavior shifting decisively toward conversational commerce. Journal du Net (September 2025) further details how AI agents are automating transactions and redefining the relationship between retailers, brands, and consumers, compelling companies to recalibrate their digital strategies for machine readability and engagement. The automation of shopping journeys and payments by AI agents, as explored in the same month, demands new standards of transparency and trust, while Google’s AI-powered shopping overhaul (October 2024) illustrates the broader industry trend toward personalized, efficient, and interactive experiences. Collectively, these developments signal a fundamental reconfiguration of retail, where the ability to engage consumers within AI-driven environments is becoming a critical competitive advantage.
OpenAI partners with Shopify for shopping without exiting the chatbot