OpenAI has discontinued its Instant Checkout feature. The company will redirect users to vendors’ own websites to complete purchases, according to The Information.
The AI startup launched Instant Checkout in September 2025. The tool allowed users to confirm orders, delivery, and payment without leaving ChatGPT.
Etsy, Walmart, and Shopify quickly adopted the solution to enable customers to make payments directly within the chatbot. Shopify President Harley Finkelstein described it as a “new frontier” for online retail.
“OpenAI underestimated the complexity of implementing transactions. On one hand, it’s somewhat surprising, but on the other, it’s challenging for retailers,” noted Bob Hetu, an analyst at the research and consulting firm Gartner.
Forrester’s principal analyst Emily Pfeiffer emphasized that integrating vendors proved to be a complex process, and Instant Checkout often malfunctioned.
OpenAI could use data from retailers’ websites to obtain product information, but details on availability, delivery times, and costs were often inaccurate or outdated.
An OpenAI representative stated that the company has “prioritized” improving product search and discovery within the chatbot.
“Instant Checkout is transitioning to an Apps format, where purchases will occur more seamlessly,” they noted.
Shopify highlighted that new e-commerce functionality will appear in ChatGPT. Buyers will still be able to find vendors’ products within the chatbot, but purchases will be completed on the retailers’ own platforms.
“Three-in-One”
OpenAI is transforming ChatGPT into a “super app”—a unified ecosystem for the AI programming assistant Codex, the browser Atlas, and the chatbot. The three products will be housed within a single desktop application.
“We realized we were spreading our efforts across too many programs and technologies. We need to simplify operations,” said OpenAI’s head of applications, Fidji Simo.
She added that fragmentation “slowed down and hindered achieving the desired quality level.”
Earlier reports revealed OpenAI’s intention to integrate the video generator Sora into ChatGPT.
The “super app” primarily focuses on agent AI—a system that not only answers questions but autonomously performs tasks on a computer. It can write code, analyze data, and operate online.
The idea is that ChatGPT serves as the “entry point,” while Codex and Atlas provide a working environment without the need to switch between windows.
Simo called the recent successes of Anthropic in attracting users a “wake-up call.”
The OpenAI mobile app will continue to operate without changes for now. The strategy is focused on desktop, developers, advanced users, and corporate clients.
Back in March 2026, OpenAI integrated the music recognition service Shazam into ChatGPT.