Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to let customers complete purchases directly inside ChatGPT, via the platform’s “Instant Checkout” feature. What makes this intriguing for the fashion industry is that Walmart’s catalogue will now become part of a conversational experience: instead of searching for “black denim jacket, size M,” you simply tell the chatbot what you’re looking for and it returns options.
Walmart is ushering in the next generation of retail by combining its huge assortment of apparel and accessories, low prices and delivery speed with the power of AI. The company announced a new partnership with OpenAI that will allow customers to shop Walmart through ChatGPT using “Instant Checkout”. Customers can simply chat and buy, and Walmart will handle the rest.
“For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change. There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalized and contextual. We are running towards that more enjoyable and convenient future with Sparky and through partnerships including this important step with OpenAI”, said Doug McMillon, President and CEO, Walmart Inc.
At the center of this transformation are the everyday moments that define how people shop. OpenAI is open-sourcing the technology that powers Instant Checkout, the Agentic Commerce Protocol, so that more merchants and developers can build their integrations. The Agentic Commerce Protocol is an open standard for AI commerce that lets AI agents, people, and businesses work together to complete purchases. The company co-developed it with Stripe and leading merchant partners to be powerful, secure, and easy to adopt. This marks the next step in agentic commerce, where ChatGPT helps users find what to purchase — and helps them purchase it. Shoppers can go from chat to checkout in a few clicks. For sellers, it is a new way to reach hundreds of millions of people while keeping control of their payments, systems and customer relationships.
If Walmart’s catalogue is filtered through ChatGPT’s algorithmic interface, are we trading aesthetic exploration for efficiency? Perhaps, but the promise is compelling. The integration offers speed and personalisation: you can ask for “a sustainable cotton blazer under $80 for Delhi monsoon” and have relevant items pulled from Walmart’s inventory in moments. For the retailer, the logic is clear: more purchase paths, fewer steps between desire and checkout. The future of retail isn’t about replacing human connection with machines, it’s about using AI to remove friction and make everyday moments easier, smarter and more delightful.
How Instant Checkout Works For Consumers
ChatGPT acts like a personal shopper. When someone asks a shopping question—’best running shoes under $100′ or ‘gifts for a ceramics lover’ — ChatGPT shows relevant products from across the web. Product results are organic and unsponsored, ranked purely on relevance to the user.
If a product supports Instant Checkout, users can tap ‘Buy’, confirm their order, shipping, and payment details, and complete the purchase without leaving the chat. Existing ChatGPT subscribers can pay with their card on file, or other card and express payment options. Orders, payments, and fulfilment are handled by the merchant using their existing systems. ChatGPT simply acts as the user’s AI agent—securely passing information between user and merchant, just like a digital personal shopper would.
Merchants pay a small fee on completed purchases but the service is free for users, doesn’t affect their prices, and doesn’t influence ChatGPT’s product results. When ranking merchants that sell the same product, ChatGPT considers factors like availability, price, quality, whether a merchant is the primary seller, and whether Instant Checkout is enabled, to optimise the user experience.
How Can Merchants Apply?
Merchants interested in adding Instant Checkout can submit a merchant application. The ChatGPT team will reach out and onboard merchants on a rolling basis. OpenAI is accepting applications from Merchants who want to: 1) integrate their products into ChatGPT Search results and 2) enable Instant Checkout in ChatGPT via the Agentic Commerce Protocol. Currently it is live only in the US with US merchants, but the company’s goal is to expand user and merchant geographies next year.
The Agentic Commerce Protocol
At the core of this experience is the Agentic Commerce Protocol which provides the language that lets AI agents and businesses work together to complete a purchase for a user. openAI built the Agentic Commerce Protocol with Stripe and leading merchants to work across platforms, payment processors, and business types; integrate quickly without changing their backend systems; and keep merchants in control of the customer relationship as the merchant of record from fulfilment and returns to support and communication.
When someone places an order, ChatGPT sends the necessary details to the merchant’s backend using Agentic Commerce Protocol. The merchant accepts or declines the order, processes the payment via their existing provider, and handles fulfilment and customer support. If a merchant processes payments with Stripe, they can enable agentic payments in one line of code. If they use another payment processor, they can participate in Instant Checkout and accept agentic payments by using Stripe’s new Shared Payment Token API or adopting the Delegated Payments Spec in the Agentic Commerce Protocol—without changing their existing payment processor.
Transparency And Trust
In this early stage of the AI commerce future, users confirm each step before any action is taken; encrypted payment tokens are authorized for specific amounts and specific merchants with the user’s permission; and only the information required to complete the order is shared with the merchant, with the user’s permission.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
