Happy Tuesday.
Someone just asked if our chatbot could negotiate a better price. I told them, “It’s still learning to haggle.”
From AI agents filling carts to Amazon and Walmart racing to keep up, e-commerce is changing faster than you can say “add to cart.”
We’ve got the latest moves, no promo code needed.
Let’s dive in! 🎯
ECOMMERCE NEWS
🛒 OpenAI Lets Users Shop Via ChatGPT
OpenAI has launched “Instant Checkout”, letting U.S. ChatGPT users buy products directly in the chat. Shoppers can now go from conversation to purchase in just a few taps, no new apps, no leaving the chat, and no extra steps.
For now, Instant Checkout supports single-item purchases, but multi-item carts and more merchants are coming soon. The service ranks products by relevance, and if eligible, users simply click “Buy”, confirm details, and complete the order, all within ChatGPT.
💡 How It Works:
ChatGPT acts as your AI shopping agent
Orders and payments handled by the merchant’s existing systems
Free for users; merchants pay a small fee per sale
No impact on product rankings or prices
AI agents could soon handle every step, from finding products to completing “zero click” purchases, where a prompt is all it takes to shop.
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ECOMMERCE NEWS
🛍️ Etsy & Shopify Integrated with ChatGPT’s Shopping Cart
OpenAI’s new “Buy It in ChatGPT” feature marks a major leap for agentic AI in e-commerce. At launch, U.S. shoppers can buy Etsy products directly in ChatGPT, with Shopify’s 1M+ merchants coming soon.
The system runs on Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol, co-developed with OpenAI and open-sourced from day one.
🛒 Key Points:
Agentic commerce: AI handles search, discovery, and payment in one flow
No redirects: Buy and pay inside ChatGPT
Stripe-powered: Secure, tokenized payments
New monetization: Free-tier engagement can convert into transaction revenue
This shift signals a new era where AI agents curate, recommend, and transact, reshaping how value flows in the commerce ecosystem. Merchants must adapt to stay visible as agentic commerce becomes the new gatekeeper for digital attention.
ECOMMERCE NEWS
🌐 Perplexity’s Free AI-Powered Browser
Perplexity has launched its AI-powered browser, Comet, for everyone, no subscription required. Previously limited to paying users, Comet now offers free access to advanced features like the Comet Assistant, which helps with research, meetings, coding, and eCommerce as you browse.
The browser also introduces Background Assistants that work in your browser, inbox, or behind the scenes.
🧠 Key Features:
Comet Assistant for real-time research and productivity
Background Assistants automate tasks across web and email
Comet Plus gives access to premium journalism from top publishers
Free for all users no more $200/month paywall
By making Comet free, Perplexity aims to compete with AI browsers from Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic. A mobile app is coming soon, but for now, Comet is desktop-only.
AGENTIC COMMERCE
🤖 Agentic Commerce Has Arrived
AI shopping agents are moving from hype to reality, becoming a viable sales channel. Google and Stripe have launched new protocols, AP2 and ACP, to set standards for secure, authorized AI-driven purchases.
Google’s AP2 authenticates and validates transactions with cryptographically-signed digital mandates, ensuring trust between shoppers, agents, and merchants. Stripe’s ACP turns conversations into transactions, letting AI agents pass payment details securely and complete orders without exposing shopper credentials.
🛒 Key Takeaways:
AI agents can now shop and pay on your behalf
Mandates prove what the shopper authorized the agent to do
Stripe’s ACP enables seamless, secure checkout via chat
Merchant success will depend on clean data, fair pricing, and reliable fulfillment
Agentic commerce could shift the focus from flashy storefronts to trust, transparency, and operational excellence, where merchants win by being the most dependable choice for both humans and AI.
ECOMMERCE TRENDS
🤖 AI Shopping Is About To Upend E-Commerce
AI-powered shopping agents are moving from science fiction to reality, with tech giants like Amazon, Walmart, Meta, and Google racing to embed AI into every step of the shopping journey.
This shift, called agentic commerce, is already disrupting the e-commerce landscape. The stakes are huge: Americans spend over $1 trillion online each year, and AI referrals to product pages have jumped 4,700% year-over-year.
🛒 Key Takeaways:
Agentic commerce lets AI bots handle search, recommendations, and checkout
Big Tech is racing to control the new shopping gateways
Retailers risk losing direct customer relationships to AI intermediaries
Advertising models may shift as less traffic goes to traditional e-commerce sites
While the technology is still new, the battle for AI-powered shopping dominance is heating up. The winners will shape how and where consumers spend their money for years to come.
NEWSLETTER TLDR;
WEEKLY ROUND UP
AI CHECKOUT: OpenAI’s new Instant Checkout lets ChatGPT users buy products from Etsy and Shopify in just a few taps, no apps, no redirects, just chat and buy. The future of frictionless shopping is here, and more merchants are coming soon.
AI CART INTEGRATIONS: OpenAI now puts Etsy and Shopify right inside ChatGPT’s shopping cart. With Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol, users can discover, pay, and complete purchases without ever leaving the chat. Agentic commerce is moving from buzzword to reality.
AI BROWSING: Perplexity’s new Comet browser is now free for everyone, bringing AI-powered research, productivity, and e-commerce tools to your desktop. With background assistants and premium journalism access, Comet aims to compete with Google and OpenAI’s own browsers.
AGENTIC COMMERCE: Google and Stripe have launched new protocols so AI agents can securely shop and pay on your behalf. Agentic commerce is shifting the focus from flashy storefronts to trust, transparency, and operational excellence.
AI SHOPPING WARS: Tech giants like Amazon, Walmart, Meta, and Google are racing to embed AI into every step of the shopping journey. Agentic commerce is upending e-commerce, with bots handling everything from recommendations to checkout, and the battle for control is just beginning.
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Signing off,
The Merchant @CartHustle