OpenAI just released Instant Checkout for ChatGPT—a new feature that lets users directly make purchases within the ChatGPT interface.

ChatGPT can now spend your money for you. It’s a huge deal—both for users, brands, and the future of agentic AI.

Here’s why.

Stickers at the ready

Consumers are already enthusiastically turning to chatbots like ChatGPT to research products before deciding what to buy.

As TechCrunch shared earlier this year, referrals from chatbots to top merchant websites are up almost 400% year over year. I personally used ChatGPT to research an $800+ laptop purchase this summer.

Before, users could do their research in ChatGPT, but they needed to go directly to a merchant’s website to actually check out.

Instant checkout seeks to close that loop by allowing you to buy products within ChatGPT’s interface—sometimes with as little as a single click.

I tested out the new system within hours of its launch.

OpenAI initially rolled out Instant Checkout with a single merchant partner: Etsy. (Shopify retailers will apparently follow soon.)

To see how it works, I fired up my ChatGPT interface and asked the bot to find me a Bichon Frise sticker on Etsy (Bichons are the best kind of dog—and the kind I happen to have).

After about 30 seconds of research, ChatGPT presented me with three different Bichon Frise sticker options. Helpfully, it suggested which sticker would be best for a water bottle, the back of my laptop, and other use cases.

Before, I would’ve had to go to Etsy’s website to actually buy my sticker. Now, though, when I clicked on the one I liked best, a prominent “Buy” button appeared.

Clicking it brought up a standard set of payment options—Google Pay, Link payments, and the like.

Selecting an existing credit card from my Google Pay account, I confirmed my address and pressed “Buy.”

ChatGPT popped up a message saying it was communicating with Etsy. Seconds later, I got a purchase confirmation in my ChatGPT window. I had spent $4.81, and my Bichon Frise sticker was on the way!

Why it matters

Yes, the ability to purchase bespoke vinyl stickers using the world’s most powerful AI is neat. But in the bigger scheme of things, why does Instant Checkout matter?

Firstly, instant checkout is significant because it’s not intended to be a one-off tool. Along with its launch, OpenAI rolled out a new open source protocol—termed the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)—that the company says will allow for direct communications between merchants and providers of chatbots like ChatGPT.

By implementing ACP, merchants can make it easy for chatbot users to purchase things directly from them.

The fact that OpenAI rolled out a fully formed protocol along with its new feature suggests they’re trying to build an ecosystem for chatbot shopping, not simply rake in a bit more revenue during the upcoming Black Friday season.

The company clearly hopes that other chatbot builders will adopt its protocol, creating an ecosystem that will bring in a wide range of merchants.

The release notes for Instant Checkout say that any merchant using the Stripe platform can enable the new protocol in a few clicks. Many retailers are doubtless scrambling to have their tech teams do that straight away.

If OpenAI succeeds with this ambition, they’ll put their tool in a place to compete with the Amazons and Walmarts of the world—not just Google and other search engines.

If chatbot shopping really takes off, it could become a whole new sales channel for merchants. The fact that it supports small merchants and allows purchases in a single click—without an external merchant account—could help to dramatically level the playing field for merchants and creators who struggle to compete with Amazon and other giants.

The new protocol is also significant because it gives a clear “why” to the emerging discipline of Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).

As I’ve shared previously, brands are scrambling to get their products mentioned and recommended within chatbots. Before, though, many brands wondered if doing the work of GEO was really worth it.

Referrals from AI bots are increasing rapidly, but they’re still tiny. Why invest money and resources in getting your brand into chatbots now? Why not wait and see what the future brings?

With Instant Checkout, chatbots are now not just a research tool, but an actual source of revenue and sales. It’s also far easier with a protocol like ACP to attribute purchases directly back to a chat.

That will make brands far more willing to throw money at generative engine optimization in an effort to get not only mentions, but actual sales from the bots. I already predicted a generative engine optimization craze before Instant Checkout rolled out—the new feature only deepens the appeal of GEO.

Useful agents?

Finally, instant checkout represents the newest direction for the concept of AI agents—which has seen feverish excitement in Silicon Valley, but not much application in the real world.

It’s cool to watch a computer research your flight to Atlanta or plan out a lunch for you. But most people probably won’t actually use AI to do those things.

If an AI can actually close the loop and directly make purchases on your behalf, though, that might make AI agents worth using.

Imagine asking ChatGPT to plan your kid’s firetruck themed birthday party (the kind of thing many parents, myself included, already do).

If the system just gave you some ideas for cake toppers and placemats, that would be neat, but of limited value.

If it could list all of the items you needed to make an awesome party, get your permission to buy them from 10 different merchants at once, and then have them all sent to your door with a single click, that would be a much more useful tool.

People already use OpenAI’s Deep Research—one of the only successful applications of agentic AI technology—to explore new topics or summarize news. With Instant Checkout OpenAI may have created another agentic AI tool that normal people will actually use.

OpenAI has already proven itself adept at spending gobs of money from venture capital backers and partners like Microsoft. With Instant Checkout, it’s ready to start spending yours, too.