What is ChatGPT instant checkout? You may have heard that ChatGPT is now letting shoppers make purchases directly from its platform.
Next time you do product research with AI, in other words, you might see a “Buy now” button next to some of ChatGPT’s product recommendations.
ChatGPT launched the new solution with built-in partnerships with Shopify and Etsy. That means many products for sale on those platforms will also be available for purchase on ChatGPT.
It’s a big deal—depending on what you sell. The introduction of direct checkout from a messaging platform might reshape how product discovery works for a lot of brands.
But it’s important to keep in mind that conversational commerce will matter disproportionately for certain product categories—and probably not register for others.
Before you either jump on the bandwagon (or dismiss instant checkout out of hand), think about where you stand in the market.
How does ChatGPT instant checkout work?
If a product is approved for Instant Checkout—as many Shopify-based and Etsy-based products probably will be—a buy button will pop up in conversation with ChatGPT.
Returning ChatGPT users will be able to pay with their card on file. If you’re new, you can share your payment info and address within the conversation.
For now, instant checkout applies only to single-item purchases, but ChatGPT insists that it will soon expand to multiple items in a cart.
Also, ChatGPT will take a fee from merchants for all purchases it refers.
How big this market is going to be remains an open question. Marketplace Pulse estimates that ChatGPT is currently responsible for about $5.5 billion in product sales annually. This will probably only grow in the coming months.
Which categories does ChatGPT instant checkout impact?
Of course, ChatGPT is probably going to be the first of many AI tools that integrate shopping into its ecosystem. We’re using it as an example, really, of what’s to come.
But in this theoretical future where AI messaging tools are referring shoppers to products, who needs to worry?
Let’s start with the product categories that ChatGPT instant checkout probably won’t impact.
Visual-first products. AI agents probably won’t facilitate a lot of purchases of products that are both highly visual and subject to individual taste.
ChatGPT, for instance, is not exactly a visual-first platform.
Let’s say you’re shopping for clothes. It’s first of all hard for an AI agent to surface clothing styles for you.
You can do all of the prompting you like, but fashion often boils down to, “You know it when you see it.” ChatGPT is going to be hard-pressed to get around this reality.
And even if the AI agent does come up with good clothing options, you’re probably going to want to swipe through a lot of images before you make an online purchase.
You’ll likely want to visit the website or Instagram of the brand, so you can see as many visuals as possible of the clothing item before you make your purchase.
The same logic applies to any other aesthetic type of purchase. ChatGPT just probably isn’t going to have much impact on purchases of jewelry, furniture, and more.
High-price items. Rare is the person who is going to want to make a really expensive purchase based solely on an interaction with an AI agent.
CPG products. You probably won’t see a lot of purchases from ChatGPT of products that people just want to automate. Think of laundry detergent, or even a DTC snack brand you love.
Most people just want to subscribe to these products, get an automated refill, and then stop thinking about it.
Who is impacted by ChatGPT instant checkout?
Juozas Kaziukėnas had an insightful opinion, which is that ChatGPT instant checkout is probably most likely to impact technical product purchases that involve a lot of background research.
Think about appliances, kitchenware, or tech items. Picture the kinds of items that you might buy based on a Wirecutter review, for instance, and you get the gist.
Let’s say you’re in the market for a new air conditioner. There are so many options for ACs there that it can get overwhelming quickly.
And ultimately, when shopping for an AC, you probably just want to answer a relatively simple question: Which AC will keep my home cool, last long, and be relatively straightforward to install?
Deducing the right AC for you requires a lot of internet research, Reddit sleuthing, and so on.
ChatGPT, at least in theory, can cut through the noise and surface these top products for you. You won’t need to sink hours and hours of research into it.
If you’re a brand or seller, and your product is an appliance, tech item, or another item that requires technical research, then you absolutely need to take AI checkout seriously.
It’s important to start preparing for AI product discovery, and rethink aspects of your marketing in order to get benefits.
We’ve written about this before, but basically: The further integration of AI and commerce underscores the need to ensure your content is refreshed and that you have added scrape-able FAQs pages available.
