There are logical partnerships and there are partnerships that most people might have overlooked in the broader theme of how artificial intelligence is taking over and dominating many industries. In the case of OpenAI, parent of ChatGPT, its users are now able to purchase items direct from sellers on the Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY). OpenAI also indicated that over 1 million merchants using the Shopify Inc. (NASDAQ: SHOP) platform will soon be available under the same program, built with Stripe.
The moves in Etsy and Shopify shares were more than notable, up over 10% and over 5% respectively. This is obviously great news for both platforms. After all, over 700 million people turn to ChatGPT each week (according to OpenAI) – but there may be a catch for just how much this means for both platforms over the long haul.
There is nothing exclusive that will bar other retailers and other shopping platforms from being included in a portal generated by AI –and what’s to prevent OpenAI from simply defaulting to partners that either pay the most in referral fees or via other measurements? The company did address this latter question (see below).
OpenAI did indicate that it plans to add more merchants to an Instant Checkout system that is open-source technology to power the platform’s checkout system. So, again — nothing exclusive and no barriers to other retail and niche players from having the same arrangement with OpenAI/ChatGPT — for fees paid back to the AI leader if an order is completed.
OpenAI’s statement shows that this is agentic commerce that helps find what to buy AND actually helps consumers in buying in a seamless effort for shoppers and consumers. It specifically noted that products which support the Instant Checkout will allow consumers to make purchases directly on the live AI chat.
It is also the merchants themselves that will pay money to OpenAI for completed purchases. OpenAI confirmed that the agentic commerce service is free for ChatGPT users. The company also claims that it will not impact the price paid by consumers — and that Instant Checkout items will not be preferred in product results.
Etsy shares were up over 10% at $72.25 on Monday, with a new 52-week range of $40.05 to $72.31. Shopify’s stock was up over 5% at $147.89 and its 52-week range is $69.84 to $159.01. As for the discrepancy in gains, Etsy’s market cap is just over $7 billion and Shopify’s market cap is $192 billion.
