How ChatGPT’s new shopping feature shifts AI search, PR strategy, and purchase pathways
As you’re likely aware, OpenAI announced the launch of ChatGPT Instant Checkout this week.
This is a natural evolution of their ChatGPT Shopping feature, which launched in April.
We are keeping an eye on this news, because the outputs of PR, especially earned media and influencer work, intersect heavily with how brands show up in ChatGPT. AI scrapes non paid sources more than any others, with earned leading the way, so we see the results of PR programs fuelling AI search presence.
Here is a quick primer on recent developments and how it might impact your company and AI search presence.
ChatGPT Shopping vs. ChatGPT Instant Checkout – what’s the difference?
- ChatGPT Shopping: Focused on discovery. It surfaces product recommendations inside ChatGPT with structured data like price, availability, sizing, and review summaries.
- ChatGPT Instant Checkout: Extends discovery into transactions. Instead of redirecting to a merchant site, customers can now build a cart and complete payment right inside ChatGPT.
Why this matters for PR and AI visibility
Just like media coverage builds brand awareness, surfacing in AI search results ensures your products are seen where decisions are happening. As platforms like ChatGPT add transactional capabilities, you’ll want to be both visible and have an easy path to purchase. That creates a new layer of competitive pressure alongside traditional PR and marketing.
How this may impact your visibility
- OpenAI has said product recommendations won’t be penalized if you don’t integrate with Instant Checkout. The company says if your products appear today, they should continue to do so. We are not fully buying this, but time will tell.
- The known caveat is at the merchant level. If your products are recommended but another retailer is selling the same item and supports Instant Checkout (e.g., Walmart or Best Buy), their listing will be prioritized. This means that your product will still appear, but the sale is more likely to go to the merchant offering the seamless in-ChatGPT checkout.
Our hunch is that, when all other things are equal, these large-scale merchants may get prioritized over smaller DTC sites, as their websites, shipping methods, and return policies are generally more trusted (this is backed up by Feb 2025 data in our Retail Channel Preferences Report).
If you’re interested in getting started
- If you’re selling on a supported major platform (like Shopify), most of the technical integration is handled for you. If you’re on a custom stack, you’ll need to set up a product feed, a cart-building API, and possibly payment rails.
- In both cases, brands need to complete ChatGPT’s Merchant Application Form at https://chatgpt.com/merchants.
The bigger picture
With ChatGPT approaching a billion weekly active users, even modest adoption of shopping features will translate into meaningful traffic and transactions. This rollout isn’t groundbreaking technically, but the scale is what makes it important. Expect competitive pressure to adopt once your competitors do.
If you have any questions, or if you want to chat either email me or schedule a call.