OpenAI’s plans to make ChatGPT more like Amazon aren’t going so well
ChatGPT's 'Instant Checkout' feature is being deprioritized after users didn't adopt it for purchases.
OpenAI is stepping back from its ambition to turn ChatGPT into a direct e-commerce platform. The company announced it is deprioritizing the development of its 'Instant Checkout' feature, launched in September 2023, which allowed users to add products to a cart and complete purchases entirely within the chatbot interface. According to reports, the feature saw low adoption, with users simply not turning to ChatGPT to finalize transactions. Instead of acting as a shopping portal, OpenAI will now focus ChatGPT's commercial role on being a centralized hub for product discovery and research.
This new strategy leverages OpenAI's Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), an open standard developed with fintech partner Stripe. The ACP utilizes data from participating merchants to power a rich comparison-shopping experience within ChatGPT. Going forward, the chatbot will provide detailed product information, including side-by-side pictures, prices, features, and reviews to help users decide what to buy. The actual checkout process will be routed to the merchants' own websites, often through dedicated ChatGPT apps created by the vendors. This pivot acknowledges that while users may seek AI assistance for research, they currently prefer familiar, merchant-controlled paths for the final purchase.
- OpenAI is deprioritizing the 'Instant Checkout' feature due to low user adoption for completing purchases.
- The new focus is on product discovery using the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) with Stripe for data.
- ChatGPT will now provide detailed comparisons but route users to merchant sites for the final checkout.
Why It Matters
It shows the limits of AI as a transactional platform and refocuses its commercial value on being an intelligent research assistant.