SAN FRANCISCO – With relatively little fanfare, OpenAI announced this week that it is turning ChatGPT into a virtual merchant that will guide customers to products on Etsy and Shopify. As reported in U.S. News and World Report, the move is an attempt to generate new revenue in online commerce.
“ChatGPT users can now buy directly from Etsy sellers while interacting with the chatbot, and will soon be able to do the same with Shopify sellers,” confirms U.S. News in a Sept. 30 article. “Competing with the likes of Amazon and Google for purchase fees from digital shopping could be a new source of money for OpenAI. The company hasn’t made a profit and has relied on investors to back the costs of building and running its powerful AI systems.”
A statement on the OpenAI website declared: “U.S. ChatGPT Plus, Pro, and Free users can now buy directly from U.S. Etsy sellers right in chat, with over a million Shopify merchants, like Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx and Vuori, coming soon. Today, Instant Checkout supports single-item purchases. Next, we’ll add multi-item carts and expand merchants and regions.”
Over on the Etsy website, writer Rafe Colburn explained: “As a marketplace of over 5 million creative entrepreneurs, it’s our job to remove barriers for shoppers so they can easily discover and be delighted by our sellers’ special items. To further these efforts, we’re partnering with OpenAI to meet shoppers where they are in their discovery journey. Starting today, ChatGPT users in the U.S. can discover, browse, and purchase items on Etsy directly through ChatGPT.”