Shopify and OpenAI Introduce Commerce Infrastructure for the Conversational Era

A fundamental shift in digital commerce is underway. Through a new partnership between Shopify and OpenAI, merchants can now transact directly inside ChatGPT. Conversations that once guided discovery can now complete the full transaction flow—from search to checkout—within a single interaction.

This is not a campaign or limited beta. It’s a structural addition to Shopify’s merchant infrastructure and OpenAI’s conversational interface. The integration is powered by real-time product data and an open-source protocol designed to make AI agents transactable.

“People are discovering products in AI conversations, not just through search or ads,” said Vanessa Lee, VP of Product at Shopify. “This lets our merchants show up naturally in those moments and gives shoppers a way to buy without breaking their flow.”

Over 700 million users interact with ChatGPT weekly. Shopify merchants—including brands like Glossier, Vuori, and SKIMS—will soon have the ability to surface products, display inventory, and enable purchase without leaving the chat.

Real-Time Transactions, Native Context

At the core of this system is Instant Checkout, built on the Agentic Commerce Protocol, co-developed by OpenAI and Stripe. The protocol enables secure, real-time transactions by allowing ChatGPT to pass order details—payment, shipping, product metadata—directly to a merchant’s backend.

Shoppers confirm payment details, shipping, and order terms within the conversation. The product is fulfilled by the merchant, using their existing systems. No new interface is required. Attribution and control remain intact.

“Being on Shopify means we can automatically be wherever our customers are shopping—including inside AI conversations,” said Colleen Waters, VP of eCommerce at Steve Madden. “That lets us stay focused on our brand and customers while staying at the forefront of commerce.”

There is no preferential ranking based on payment provider or monetization. ChatGPT product results are organic, evaluated on relevance, price, availability, quality, and seller authenticity.

“When ranking multiple merchants that sell the same product,” OpenAI explained in a recent release, “ChatGPT considers factors like availability, price, quality, whether a merchant is the primary seller, and whether Instant Checkout is enabled, to optimize the user experience.”

Stripe’s Role in the Transaction Layer

For merchants using Stripe, Instant Checkout can be enabled with minimal integration—often a single line of code. For those using other providers, Stripe has released the Shared Payment Token API and a Delegated Payments Spec, both designed to support the protocol without requiring wholesale changes to payment architecture.

“Stripe is building the economic infrastructure for AI,” said Will Gaybrick, President of Technology and Business at Stripe. “That means re-architecting today’s commerce systems and creating new AI-powered experiences for billions of people.”

The Agentic Commerce Protocol is open source. OpenAI has made documentation and standards publicly available to encourage adoption across platforms, developers, and merchants. Its emphasis is not just on capability, but on trust and compliance: encrypted payment tokens, explicit user confirmation at each step, and minimal data exchange.

Merchant Implications: Integration Without Disruption

Shopify’s infrastructure allows merchants to integrate AI-driven commerce without altering how they operate. Orders are routed through existing systems, and merchants retain responsibility for fulfillment, returns, and customer support. Product visibility is extended, not relocated.

“Our goal is always to keep merchants on the cutting edge by default,” said Vanessa Lee. “As we expand, merchants will unlock new ways to sell automatically, with their brand and shopper relationships still front and center.”

This architecture is consistent with Shopify’s approach to extensibility: enable participation in emerging channels without adding operational friction. Merchants retain their data, their systems, and their position as the merchant of record.

As AI plays a larger role in shaping consumer decision-making, this integration ensures that Shopify merchants aren’t adapting to a trend—they’re functioning as part of its infrastructure.

What’s Next

The rollout has begun with Etsy sellers and is expanding to Shopify’s merchant base in the United States. Multi-item carts and international merchant support are in active development.

OpenAI and Shopify are both investing in long-term infrastructure, not just short-term features. The open protocol, combined with merchant-led fulfillment and secure transactional standards, positions this model for scale.

As adoption spreads, competitive advantage will come from how quickly merchants can optimize product data, pricing, and experience for conversational surfaces. The interface may change. Operational fundamentals remain central.