For the past decade, e-commerce merchants have fought to win visibility on Google Search and Shopping feeds, Amazon’s marketplace algorithms, and more recently on social platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. These channels shaped how customers discovered products.
Now, a new channel has arrived — one that could be just as big, and it’s happening inside ChatGPT. It’s called Instant Buy (or Instant Checkout). And if your store isn’t ready, you may soon be invisible to millions of high-intent shoppers.
A New Way Customers Shop
Imagine a shopper asking ChatGPT:
- “What’s the best running shoe under $100?”
- “Show me eco-friendly candles with free shipping.”
- “Which moisturizer works for dry skin?”
Until now, ChatGPT could surface product results — usually linking out to merchant sites, much like a search engine. That alone created some new discovery opportunities.
Image Source: OpenAI
But the real breakthrough is Instant Buy: the ability for the shopper to browse, select, and complete their purchase without ever leaving the chat, minimizing redirects, form fills and abandoned carts.
For shoppers, this means frictionless buying. For merchants, it means:
- New visibility at the exact moment of intent.
- Higher conversion rates because of reduced steps in the funnel
- Better user experience and lower checkout abandonment
Put simply: showing up in ChatGPT is good — showing up with Instant Buy is better.
Why This Matters Now
1. It’s a New Discovery Channel
Shoppers are already asking ChatGPT for buying recommendations — from shoes to skincare to electronics. If your products aren’t available to be surfaced in those results, they simply don’t show up.
2. Higher Conversions
By collapsing the funnel inside chat, you cut out abandoned carts and friction.
3. Early Mover Advantage
Just like SEO in Google’s early days or Amazon marketplace listings 10 years ago, the first merchants who optimize for this will dominate results before competition crowds in.
4. Trust Built In
Consumers trust ChatGPT as a neutral assistant. If your product is recommended inside it, you inherit that trust.
Who’s Already Live in ChatGPT Shopping
This isn’t theoretical — Instant Buy is already live in the U.S. today.
- Etsy sellers are live now. U.S. users can already purchase from U.S.-based Etsy shops directly inside ChatGPT. Search for handmade goods, jewelry, or home décor, and you’ll see Etsy listings with “Buy” buttons that complete checkout inside the conversation.
- Shopify merchants are next. U.S. Shopify stores using Shopify Payments (Shopify’s built-in gateway, which is powered by Stripe) will automatically be included as Instant Buy rolls out. That means hundreds of thousands of merchants will soon gain access without doing extra work.
But here’s the catch:
- If you’re on WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, or a custom-coded storefront, you won’t be included by default.
- Even some Shopify merchants who use non-Stripe payment gateways (PayPal, Adyen, Braintree, Klarna, etc.) are excluded.
👉 For anyone outside the Shopify Payments + Etsy circle, your products won’t appear in ChatGPT shopping until you implement the right infrastructure — which is where the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) comes in. We’ll cover that next.
The Plumbing Behind It: Agentic Commerce Protocol
Instant Buy isn’t just a bolt-on feature — it’s powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), an open standard co-developed by OpenAI and Stripe.
Importantly, ACP is open source, so any platform or merchant can adopt it — not just Shopify or Etsy.
ACP defines the “pipes” that make Instant Buy work. It has three main components:
1. Product Feed
A structured catalog of your items — with titles, descriptions, variants, images, prices, and return policies. This must stay fresh and accurate, and feeds can be updated as often as every 15 minutes.
Unlike Google Shopping feeds, which usually refresh daily and are focused on keyword/product matching, ACP feeds are built for richer intent (AI queries like “best moisturizer for dry skin” instead of just “moisturizer”) and support richer media (high-quality images, lifestyle shots, even video).
2. Checkout Endpoints
APIs that allow ChatGPT to create, update, and complete checkout sessions directly in your system.
3. Delegated Payments
Payments are handled by your existing Payment Service Provider (PSP). Right now that’s Stripe (via Shared Payment Token), with more PSPs expected later. You remain the merchant of record for fulfillment, refunds, and support.
👉 Takeaway: ACP’s plumbing is familiar if you’ve worked with Google Shopping feeds, checkout APIs, or PSPs. The difference is in freshness, richness, agent-driven flows, and delegated payments — and those are where competitive merchants will build an edge.
If you’re on Shopify Payments or Etsy, ACP is already wired up for you. Everyone else will either need to implement ACP (or hire someone to do it) or wait until their e-commerce platform or PSP adds native support.
That’s why there’s urgency: every week you wait, competitors on Shopify and Etsy are gaining ground in ChatGPT visibility.
Get Instant Check Ready fast
If you need help getting ready for Instant Checkout fast, contact us.
What Merchants Will Need to Do
Right now, Etsy sellers are already live and Shopify merchants will be included automatically as rollout continues. For everyone else, joining Instant Buy requires two steps:
1. Apply to Join
- Non-Shopify / non-Etsy merchants must submit the Merchant Application on OpenAI’s site.
- OpenAI is reviewing submissions and onboarding selected merchants on a rolling basis.
- Currently, Instant Buy is live only in the U.S. with U.S. merchants, with expansion to other geographies planned for next year.
👉 If you’re a Shopify or Etsy seller, do not apply — you’re already covered.
2. Prepare for Readiness
While you wait to be selected, make sure you’re ready to go fast when accepted:
- Product Feed: Build a complete, accurate feed (think Google Shopping, but richer and refreshed every 15 minutes). See complete product feed spec here.
- Checkout Endpoints: Have APIs ready to support agent-driven checkouts.
- Payments: Today Stripe is supported first; if you use another PSP, plan for interim workarounds or support Stripe as an additional PSP for purchases within ChatGPT.
- Edge Cases: Test flows like stock-outs, refunds, and declines.
- Monitoring: Instrument feed health and order performance so you can treat ChatGPT as a channel.
From SEO to ACO: The Next Playbook
Think of ACP as creating a new field: Agentic Commerce Optimization (ACO).
Just as merchants spent the last decade mastering SEO and marketplace optimization, they’ll now need to master ACO — optimizing their feeds and experiences to rank well in ChatGPT shopping results.
Key ACO levers:
- Feed completeness → Are all structured product attributes filled in (color, size, material, identifiers, dimensions, variants, category)?
- Image quality → High-res lifestyle photos vs plain product shots.
- Freshness → Price and availability updated in near real time.
- Policies → Clear shipping and returns build trust with AI agents.
- Pricing → Competitive positioning matters for recommendation engines.
ACO will become the new SEO for AI-driven commerce.
Risks of Waiting
It’s tempting to wait until WooCommerce, Magento, or BigCommerce ship official ACP plugins. But here’s the reality:
- Platforms may take months to ship stable ACP integrations.
- Even when they do, many merchants won’t upgrade immediately.
- Early adopters will have already secured visibility and performance signals that make it harder to catch up later.
This is the same story we saw with SEO and Amazon optimization: those who moved first captured the lion’s share of attention.
What This Means for Agencies and Merchants
- Agencies: Just like SEO became a core service line, ACP readiness + ACO optimization is a massive upsell opportunity. Every client will eventually ask about it.
- Non-Shopify merchants: You need ACP plumbing immediately if you want in. Expect $10k–$40k projects for integration.
- Shopify merchants (on Stripe): You’re covered on plumbing. But you’ll still need ACO if you want your products to rank and convert.
Final Thoughts: The Amazon Moment for AI Commerce
ACP represents the biggest shift in e-commerce distribution since Amazon marketplaces and Google Shopping. Only this time, discovery isn’t keyword search or ad auctions — it’s AI-driven, conversational, and intent-based.
The stakes are simple:
- Get Instant Checkout (ACP)-ready now, and you’ll ride the wave as an early winner.
- Wait, and you’ll be fighting uphill once competition and platforms catch up.
Whether you’re on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, BigCommerce, or a custom storefront — the merchants who move first will capture the AI commerce opportunity.
👉 Now is the time to claim your spot in ChatGPT shopping. If you’d like help getting your store ACP-ready, contact us and we’ll guide you through feed setup, checkout integration, and optimization so you don’t get left behind.