OpenAI just announced that people can now buy products directly inside ChatGPT. Not browse. Not get sent to a website.
Actually buy.
The feature, called ChatGPT Checkout, lets users ask for something, get a recommendation, and complete the purchase without ever leaving the chat. Etsy is the first platform to go live, limited to U.S. sellers. Shopify is next.
We’ve been here before.
30 years ago, when Amazon had just started selling books, we helped Usinger’s get their gift boxes available for purchase online. Back then, many thought people would never buy anything… much less sausage… on the internet. But Usinger’s did, and they won. That wasn’t a lucky guess. It was a strategic bet based on seeing where things were going before everyone else did. That mindset is what led us, during those very early years, to help other clients sell books, light bulbs, airline tickets, matchbox collectibles, commercial mats, commemorative plaques, and just about everything else on the web before “e-commerce” was even a word most people knew.
This ChatGPT announcement feels like another one of those moments.
What It Is, and What It Isn’t, Right Now
It’s still early. On ChatGPT Checkout, you can only buy one product at a time. No multi-item cart, no bundles. Only Etsy sellers can use it, only in the U.S., and there’s no ability to brand the checkout or pay to boost visibility. That’s not the point. The point is that OpenAI just took a bold step toward collapsing the entire marketing funnel into a single conversational exchange. Ask. Answer. Buy.
And to us, what comes next is obvious.
Multi-product carts, global rollout, and full Shopify integration are already in the works. OpenAI is opening up their “agentic commerce protocol” so other platforms and marketplaces can plug in. We’re heading toward a future where AI assistants not only help you find what you’re looking for, they actually place the order. Automatically. Maybe even preemptively.
Yes, We’re Speculating, But We’ve Been Right Before
Let’s be clear. Some of what we’re saying here is confirmed. Some of it is speculation. But it’s built on nearly three decades of getting this stuff right. We’ve seen the patterns. We’ve seen the winners and losers. And we’ve helped clients land on the right side of these shifts more times than we can count.
So, here’s what that means for you now.
The opportunity:
Your products could be recommended inside ChatGPT responses. Not ads, not search results, but AI-generated answers.
That means fewer steps to purchase and less reliance on someone actually visiting your website.
If your product data is clean and your content is structured, you’ll be in the running to show up.
The threat:
If you rely too heavily on traditional SEO, you’re going to lose visibility.
You can’t buy your way into this. There’s no ad platform or shortcut. You’ll need to earn it with clean data and trustworthy content.
If your product data is a mess, AI won’t understand you, and you won’t get surfaced.
And we’re not just watching this from the sidelines. We’re already in the documentation, connecting the dots between OpenAI’s new commerce protocols and what it means for our clients. The specs are out there — the guides, the key concepts, the production requirements. We’re reading them, testing them, and mapping them against actual use cases for Shopify stores we already manage.
Jamie and Jeff are weighing the strategic impact. Will it drive enough qualified sales to justify integration? Is now the time to move, or is it smarter to wait and watch adoption? Steph, Jen, and Jonah are already looking at what it takes to implement this cleanly. That includes product data structure, inventory sync, and how AI-driven checkout affects both the buyer experience and the backend.
This isn’t a hype cycle for us. It’s a moment to evaluate, prepare, and move with intent — so our clients don’t miss the window while everyone else is still catching up.
What to do next:
We’re figuring out the architecture behind this so our clients don’t have to. But there’s already action you can take.
Start by cleaning up your product listings: titles, descriptions, images, pricing, availability, shipping windows. Make sure your inventory is synced and your return policies are clear. Then go a level deeper. Write your content with clarity. Think about how AI would explain what you sell, and make it easy to understand. Treat this like a new channel, because it is. GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) and AIO (Artificial Intelligence Optimization) are the new battlegrounds. Not just being found, but being recommended, cited, and transacted all in a single AI prompt experience.
AI isn’t just the new search front door. It’s the new checkout lane. The businesses that prepare now will be the ones cashing in when shoppers stop browsing and start buying right inside their AI conversations.
We’re already helping our clients get ready for this shift.
This doesn’t mean it’s time to shut down your e-commerce site or throw everything into AI. The tools may be changing fast, but the fundamentals still matter. Your own storefront still needs to be fast, reliable, and built to convert. Your content still needs to educate, persuade, and guide real people. What’s changing is where and how those decisions will begin to happen.
That’s why you need a partner who can jump on what’s next without forgetting what still works. We’ve been helping clients do both for nearly three decades. We’re not just chasing trends — we’re making sure your entire digital ecosystem stays aligned, relevant, and future-proof.
If you’re ready to take advantage of this next wave in AI commerce, while keeping your foundation solid, let’s talk.
