OpenAI Pivots From Instant Checkout to an App-Based Shopping Model Inside ChatGPT

OpenAI has confirmed it is shutting down Instant Checkout, its original in-chat shopping feature, and pivoting to an app-based model where retailers build dedicated storefronts inside ChatGPT, after the initial approach saw limited merchant adoption and a buy button conversion rate of less than 1%, compared to the 3-4% industry average. The pivot shifts development burden onto retailers, with only Instacart currently supporting direct checkout within a ChatGPT app, while Shopify confirmed it will not build one at all and Etsy has no specific timeline. Walmart offered the most optimistic signal, calling the original experience “rudimentary” and planning to bring its Sparky AI shopping assistant into ChatGPT with full cart and checkout functionality by next month.