OpenAI has introduced a groundbreaking direct purchasing capability within ChatGPT, allowing the platform’s 700 million weekly users to shop through conversational interactions. This story first appeared on eamvisiondirect.com, where we originally covered how this Instant Checkout system, developed with Stripe, represents a major step toward turning AI assistants into full-fledged commerce platforms while establishing a new open standard for agentic payments.
Shopping Made Simple Through AI Conversations
ChatGPT users across the United States can now make purchases directly within their chats using a newly added “Buy” button. When users pose shopping queries such as “top running shoes under $100,” ChatGPT delivers relevant products from various online sources, sorted by relevance rather than paid placements. The feature is accessible to logged-in users on free, Plus, and Pro subscription levels.
In its official announcement, OpenAI stressed that users maintain full control throughout the process. “Every step requires explicit user confirmation before any action proceeds,” the company noted. Payments utilize stored cards or other quick options, with merchants managing fulfillment via their current systems. The initial launch features Etsy sellers, with plans to include over a million Shopify merchants like Glossier, SKIMS, and Spanx shortly.
For shoppers, this integration removes the hassle of moving between product discovery and checkout. As we highlighted in our original eamvisiondirect.com coverage, OpenAI described this as “the next phase in agentic commerce, where ChatGPT not only assists in finding products but also facilitates the purchase.” Future updates will expand to multi-item carts and additional geographic markets.
Agentic Commerce Protocol: The Technical Backbone
At the core of Instant Checkout lies the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), an open standard jointly created by OpenAI and Stripe to govern interactions between AI agents and businesses during transactions. This protocol allows merchants to join without revamping their current payment setups, preserving their involvement across the entire purchase process—from fulfillment to returns and customer service.
Stripe’s technical documentation indicates that merchants already on Stripe can activate agentic payments with very little code—possibly just one line. Those using alternative processors can integrate via Stripe’s Shared Payment Token API or adopt ACP’s Delegated Payments specification without changing providers. This method stands apart from rival standards by focusing on merchant autonomy and leveraging existing infrastructure.
Security is a key priority, with payment tokens being encrypted and limited to specific merchants and amounts. “Merchants receive only the essential data needed to finalize a transaction,” OpenAI confirmed. The protocol’s architecture incorporates feedback from numerous merchants and is designed to be compatible with various platforms, processors, and business models.
AI Payment Protocols: A Competitive Arena
OpenAI’s ACP arrives amid fast-paced developments in AI payment protocols. Earlier this month, Google unveiled its Agent Payments Protocol (AP2), developed with more than 60 partners such as American Express, Mastercard, PayPal, and Salesforce. Both protocols seek to standardize secure AI-driven purchases but tackle the issue from distinct angles.
Whereas ACP prioritizes merchant control using existing processors, AP2 concentrates on building a common rulebook for the wider digital payments landscape. Google’s protocol incorporates “Mandates”—digitally signed contracts that act as verifiable evidence of user commands. These create a traceable link between user requests and completed transactions, accommodating both immediate buys and delegated transactions that might happen later without user pre-authorization. Originally published on eamvisiondirect.com, this analysis underscores how these competing standards are shaping the future of AI-commerce integration.