Stripe and OpenAI have teamed up to launch ‘Instant Checkout’ inside ChatGPT, letting US users buy from Etsy (and soon Shopify stores) without leaving the chat window.

From browsing to buying without leaving the chat

If you’ve already been using ChatGPT as a virtual assistant to help plan your emails, conduct research, and manage your calendar, then this move is a logical next step.

The idea is simple: Ask ChatGPT for product recommendations, get a few options, and when you’re ready, purchase and pay on the spot via Stripe. Say goodbye to endless web searches and juggling open tabs as you try to make a decision on what and where to buy.

“Stripe is building the economic infrastructure for AI,” said Will Gaybrick, Stripe’s president of technology and business.

“We’re working alongside the most ambitious companies to create new AI-powered commerce experiences for billions of people.”

The result: ChatGPT becomes your personal shopper, recommending, processing orders, and sending them straight to the merchant’s backend.

When will it come to Australia?

For now, Instant Checkout is only available in the US. However, as SmartCompany reports, experts here see big potential for Aussie eCommerce operators once it lands.

Carla Penn-Kahn, founder of ProfitPeak, told SmartCompany that younger shoppers will likely embrace the feature.

“If your customers are living and breathing TikTok today, they are OpenAI-native first,” she said.

That could mean a new channel for small retailers beyond relying solely on Google ads or Instagram campaigns.

Don’t ditch your website just yet

While some experts are excited, others warn against putting all your eggs in the AI basket. Iain Calvert from Boom Ecommerce told SmartCompany that businesses shouldn’t abandon SEO or social ads just because ChatGPT is in the mix.

“Eighty or ninety per cent of what you do for SEO gets you into ChatGPT,” he said.

In other words, the basics of being visible online still matter: high-quality content, credibility, and customer engagement.

PR agency founder Celia Harding had an interesting perspective to share: “ChatGPT doesn’t rank you based on what you say about your products; it evaluates external signals of quality and credibility.”

Meaning small businesses that lean into testimonials and reviews could win the game.

What’s it gonna cost me?

OpenAI says merchants will pay a ‘small fee’ per transaction, but experts suspect that’s just the beginning.

“When Facebook first came out… You would get lots of traffic for free,” Calvert explained. “Then once they’ve got a captive audience, they start to charge you to run ads. I would guess that OpenAI is going to do something similar.”

Penn-Kahn agreed, telling SmartCompany, the real money will be in ads and product placements, not just transaction fees.

Keep your eyes on the prize

While Instant Checkout isn’t live yet in Australia, that doesn’t mean you should bury your head in the sand. If ChatGPT does become a key shopping channel (and all signs point in this direction), early movers could gain an edge in reaching younger, AI-savvy consumers.

However, don’t throw away your old SEO playbook just yet. A strong SEO strategy and your brand’s reputation will still be the main drivers for purchases. It’s likely ChatGPT will just become another shopfront in the mix.

So, AI may change how customers find you, but your website and shopfront still have a major role to play.

“I don’t think websites are going to go away, like retail stores didn’t go away when eCommerce came about,” Calvert concluded.

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