OpenAI takes on Google, Amazon with new agentic shopping system
TechCrunch1 day
OpenAI Launches 'Instant Checkout' for ChatGPT Shopping
Above: OpenAI logo over a keyboard with abstract data flow illustration. Image copyright: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The Spin
Techno-optimist narrative
OpenAI’s new Instant Checkout could redefine online shopping, letting ChatGPT’s 700 million users buy products directly in chat — no storefronts, no search engines. By surfacing relevant items and enabling one-click checkout from Etsy and soon over a million Shopify sellers, it challenges Amazon’s dominance and shifts retail power to AI agents. With safeguards like encrypted payments and required confirmations, it’s poised to reshape how and where people shop.
Techno-skeptic narrative
ChatGPT’s new checkout system risks turning e-commerce into a pay-to-play nightmare that crushes small businesses. Despite OpenAI’s assurances, product rankings already factor in whether a seller has Instant Checkout enabled — giving deep-pocketed brands like Amazon and H&M an inherent edge. That shift could transform ChatGPT from a neutral discovery tool into a gatekeeper, forcing startups to pay commissions or be buried deep beneath bigger competitors.