OpenAI Seeks Piece of ChatGPT-Driven eCommerce Sales

That’s according to a report Wednesday (July 16) by the Financial Times (FT), which says this move is part of a plan by the artificial intelligence (AI) startup to derive new revenues from online shopping features.

The company already displays products on its platform with the option of clicking through to online retailers, and inked a partnership with eCommerce platform Shopify in April.

Now, sources told the FT, OpenAI hopes to integrate a checkout system into ChatGPT, to make sure users complete transactions within the platform. Sellers who make sales this way would pay a commission to OpenAI.

PYMNTS has contacted OpenAI for comment but has not yet gotten a reply.

The FT notes that this marks a shift in strategy for OpenAI, whose revenue has chiefly come from subscriptions to its premium services. Getting a slice of eCommerce sales would let OpenAI earn money from people using its free service.

The report adds this move is another threat to Google’s business model, with consumers increasingly turning to AI chatbots for online search and shopping. OpenAI is already building its own browser in a separate challenge to Google, per a report last week by Reuters.

While the feature is still in development, the sources told the FT that OpenAI and partners like Shopify have been presenting early versions to brands and discussing financial terms.

Writing about the OpenAI/Shopify partnership in April, PYMNTS noted that rival Perplexity already offers its own AI shopping assistant, as well as a free merchant program to allow retailers to share their product specifications so shoppers can find their products. 

Meanwhile, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster spoke recently with Rezolve Ai CEO Daniel Wagner about the potential for AI to transform online shopping.

“Taking a customer from a query to a purchase is an art form,” Wagner said. “We’ve trained our model on psychographics and closing techniques. We’re giving retailers the best salesman on the planet… It understands not just product specifications but the utility of features like why an OLED screen matters, why a fast shutter speed benefits sports photography.”

Modern AI retail systems, that report added, are anticipating needs as well as responding to queries. While at one time chatbots offered limited, scripted responses, AI-powered sales assistants are now virtually indistinguishable from their human counterparts, argued Wagner.

“This is the evolution of digital engagement,” he added. “Today’s online shopping is old-fashioned and ineffective. Consumers will start to demand the new way.”