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SAN FRANCISCO (UCP) – Shopify has adjusted its agentic commerce strategy, removing native checkout functionality from ChatGPT, despite a surge in AI-powered shopping. “AI-powered shopping orders jumped 15x since January 2025, according to Shopify.”
The shift signals a recalibration of Shopify’s approach to agentic commerce, prioritizing product discovery and traffic referral to merchant websites over facilitating direct purchases within the AI chatbot environment. This change impacts developers building AI-driven shopping experiences and how merchants optimize for AI-powered product discovery.
New Focus: App Development and Search Referrals
Shopify merchants can now build apps directly within ChatGPT, expanding their reach and engagement. The move also allows answer engines to function as search engines, directing shoppers to merchant websites for purchase completion.
This approach aims to leverage the power of AI for product discovery while maintaining control over the checkout experience on the merchant’s own platform. Shopify continues to provide merchants with syndication to ChatGPT, ensuring their products are discoverable within the AI environment.
The Cost of Direct Sales
Merchants who opt to allow customers to complete purchases directly inside ChatGPT face an additional 4% fee on those transactions, payable to OpenAI, according to sources familiar with the arrangement. This fee likely contributed to the decision to de-emphasize native checkout within ChatGPT.
Forrester analysts suggest that the fee structure made direct in-chat purchases less attractive for merchants, especially those with lower profit margins. The Information previously reported on the fee structure.
AI Shopping Growth Continues
Despite the removal of native checkout, Shopify remains bullish on the future of AI-powered commerce. The 15x increase in AI-powered shopping orders since January 2025 demonstrates the growing consumer adoption of AI-assisted shopping experiences.
Shopify is investing heavily in integrating AI into its platform, including features like AI-powered product recommendations and personalized shopping experiences. The company aims to empower merchants to leverage AI to enhance customer engagement and drive sales.
Background: Shopify is investing heavily in ‘agentic commerce,’ where AI agents assist customers in discovering and purchasing products. This includes integrating Shopify product catalogs into AI platforms like ChatGPT and Google’s AI search.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Why did Shopify remove checkout from ChatGPT?
A: Shopify adjusted its agentic commerce strategy to recalibrate its approach, prioritizing product discovery and traffic generation over native checkout functionality within ChatGPT.
Q: Has AI shopping growth been affected by this decision?
A: No. Despite the removal, AI-powered shopping orders have jumped 15x since January 2025, demonstrating continued strong growth in AI-powered commerce.
Q: What is agentic commerce?
A: Agentic commerce refers to AI-powered shopping experiences where autonomous agents help users discover and purchase products. Shopify’s strategy now focuses on product discovery and traffic generation within this space.
Q: Will Shopify still support AI shopping on ChatGPT?
A: Yes. While native checkout has been removed, Shopify continues to support AI shopping experiences on ChatGPT, with a focus on product discovery rather than direct checkout.
Q: What does this shift mean for merchants using Shopify?
A: Merchants can still leverage AI shopping on ChatGPT for product discovery and traffic, but customers will likely be directed to complete purchases through other channels rather than native ChatGPT checkout.
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