More and more people are beginning their shopping journeys in ChatGPT-exploring, comparing, and deciding what to purchase.
Shopping online is straightforward when you already know what you want. But when you're still undecided, it typically involves jumping between tabs, reading repetitive "best of" lists, and trying to piece together the right choice.
ChatGPT addresses that problem: helping users figure out what to buy. Users can describe what they're looking for, refine their needs through conversation, and quickly compare options tailored to their specific requirements. OpenAI is now making that experience even better with richer, more visual shopping in ChatGPT. Users can browse products visually, compare options side-by-side, and access detailed, up-to-date information-all in one place. What previously took hours of searching and tab-hopping now happens in seconds.
To power this, OpenAI is expanding the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) to support product discovery-bringing more complete, relevant, and current information directly into ChatGPT.
Richer Shopping Experiences
Instead of scrolling through pages of results, ChatGPT can help users find what they're looking for based on budget, preferences, and constraints-and surface products that fit. Users can browse visually, upload images as inspiration for similar items, and refine results conversationally until they land on the right option.
Comparing products is also much easier. Items are presented side by side with key details like price, reviews, and features, allowing users to quickly evaluate options without jumping between sites.
Under the hood, OpenAI has improved speed, relevance, and product coverage-so results are more current and more useful. That means less searching, fewer tabs, and faster decisions.
For users, this transforms shopping from a fragmented, time-consuming process into a single, seamless experience. For merchants, it brings higher-intent shoppers who are closer to making a purchase.
These updates are rolling out to all ChatGPT free, Go, Plus, and Pro users during the week of the announcement, with more to come as OpenAI continues to invest in product discovery within ChatGPT.
The Foundation for AI-Native Commerce
To power this shopping experience, OpenAI is extending ACP to serve as the connective layer between merchants and users throughout discovery.
Through ACP, merchants share product feeds and promotions so their catalogs are fully represented in ChatGPT. Multiple delivery paths are supported, including through third-party providers like Salesforce and Stripe, so merchants can participate using the systems they already have in place. Over time, ACP will serve as a foundation for broader AI-native commerce experiences, including personalization, local availability, and ETAs.
Leading retailers including Target, Sephora, Nordstrom, Lowe's, Best Buy, The Home Depot, and Wayfair have already integrated into ACP for discovery.
For merchants on Shopify, product data is already integrated into ChatGPT through Shopify Catalog, helping products appear more accurately and completely in relevant user conversations. No additional work is required from individual merchants.
"Millions of Shopify merchants are open for business in ChatGPT. When buyers look for products, the Shopify Catalog offers the most relevant options from the brands that people love. They can complete purchases on the merchant's online store through an in-app browser, so everything happens seamlessly, with the merchant's brand front and center. This is AI shopping at scale."
- Mani Fazeli, VP, Product at Shopify
Connecting ChatGPT Users and Merchants
OpenAI's north star is providing the best experience for both consumers and merchants. The best consumer experiences are powered by deep partnerships with merchants. To build these deep partnerships, OpenAI wants to offer merchants options for how they convert consumers. OpenAI found that the initial version of Instant Checkout did not offer the level of flexibility they aspire to provide, so they are allowing merchants to use their own checkout experiences while focusing efforts on product discovery.
Merchants interested in experimenting with deeper integrations and native experiences on ChatGPT continue to have the option to develop ChatGPT apps. Walmart is introducing an in-ChatGPT app experience that takes users from discovery in ChatGPT into a tailored Walmart environment that supports account linking, loyalty, and Walmart payments. This new experience is available in web browsers, with app access on iOS and Android to follow shortly.
"By partnering closely with OpenAI, we've been able to learn together as we move quickly to shape what agentic commerce can become. Today's launch brings Walmart directly into the ChatGPT experience, combining leading conversational AI with the decades of retail expertise we've built serving customers."
- Daniel Danker, EVP, AI Acceleration, Product and Design at Walmart
Building for the Future of Shopping
As with other parts of ChatGPT, OpenAI is building iteratively. They are learning from early launches, incorporating feedback from users and merchants, and continuing to improve the experience over time. These updates reflect OpenAI's focus on where ChatGPT can add the most value in shopping today. OpenAI is grateful to the partners building alongside them and looks forward to sharing more as this work evolves.