The AI commerce landscape in 2025
To give some context to the magnitude of this partnership, it’s important to understand how the ecommerce AI landscape has rapidly progressed in 2025. Outside of the Shopify ecosystem, and the many new AI features to come out of that, big players in the broader AI-tech sphere began to stake their claim in commerce.
In November 2024, Perplexity AI welcomed their “Buy with Pro” feature alongside a new merchant API. In April 2025, Microsoft launched its Copilot Merchant Program that would enable sellers to create in-chat storefronts. And, behind closed doors, OpenAI’s Operator research agent was booking travel and ordering groceries for Pro users.
Most recently, OpenAI released their “Instant Checkout” feature powered by Stripe. Stripe is the checkout & payments infrastructure that enables in-chat purchases across merchants and platforms. This integration allows Plus, Pro and Free users in the U.S. to make single-item purchases directly from US Etsy sellers, and soon Shopify (multi-item carts, more merchants and expanded regions coming soon).
What is the OpenAI x Shopify Partnership?
OpenAI and Shopify have announced a partnership that will mean any brand, using Shopify as their platform, that enables ChatGPT in their sales channel (once released), will have their products available to purchase through ChatGPT. Shopify will feed real-time product data (price, inventory, images) into ChatGPT for discovery, while the brand will still receive any orders directly in their Shopify Admin. Essentially Shopify will act as the middleman between ChatGPT and a brand.
The good and the not so good
On the good side of this partnership, the integration gives Shopify merchants instant access to a new, high-intent discovery channel inside ChatGPT, where users are actively asking to buy.
It promises shorter purchase journeys and more personalized product matching. It also means no additional storefront to manage and orders, payments, and analytics flow through their existing setup.
On the not so good side, there are a few critical risks. First, fragmentation: as OpenAI, Microsoft, Google, and others roll out their own conversational marketplaces, brands may need to optimize for multiple “AI surfaces,” each with unique feed specs, APIs, and ranking signals.
Second, loss of customer data: purchases made inside ChatGPT limit the amount of first-party data brands can collect directly, weakening their ability to retarget, segment, or personalize beyond the chat ecosystem.
Third, ranking competition: as more merchants participate, ChatGPT’s algorithms will decide which products surface first - just like traditional SEO on search engines. Visibility will depend on schema implementation (more on this in 'key considerations'), AI search optimization (GEO), price competitiveness, and overall trust signals, creating a new kind of “AI shelf space” race.
What we expect: Shopify Plus and enterprise brands
Shopify and OpenAI have not yet released full technical documentation for enterprise merchants. However, based on official announcements, OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), and Shopify’s existing Sales Channel Framework, this is what we expect will follow once the rollout and developer docs go live.
Dedicated integration via Shopify’s Sales Channel Framework
- Shopify Plus merchants are expected to gain early access to a ChatGPT sales channel, available as a native integration in Admin or via Organization Settings → Commerce Channels.
- Brands will likely be able to enable it at the organization level for multiple stores (global brands, regional catalogs, etc.).
- The system should automatically sync product data, pricing, inventory, and variants into OpenAI’s ecosystem using Shopify’s GraphQL product APIs aligned with the ACP Product Feed spec.
- Multi-store organizations could designate which markets, stores, or SKUs are visible in ChatGPT.
Advanced configuration & Instant Checkout control
- Plus brands may be able to choose between Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT (via Stripe and the ACP token flow) or a custom redirect checkout to a branded or headless domain.
- Checkout logic could be customized using Shopify Functions or Hydrogen APIs to tailor payment methods, shipping rates, or offer logic before finalization.
ACP / Stripe integration with enterprise PSP flexibility
- The Instant Checkout flow will use Stripe by default, but Shopify Plus merchants should be able to map payments to enterprise PSPs (Adyen, Braintree, Authorize.Net, etc.) that support ACP’s Delegated Payment Spec.
- Payments will still use Shared Payment Tokens (SPTs) for security as ChatGPT never touches card data.
- All orders will settle through existing Shopify Payments or connected gateways with reconciliation, taxes, and multi-currency handling.
Custom fulfillment, OMS, and analytics
- Orders from ChatGPT will likely appear as first-party Shopify orders, flowing into existing OMS or ERP systems via Shopify Flow, APIs, or webhooks.
- Attribution should include a “ChatGPT Channel” marker, visible in reports and analytics dashboards.
- Brands could segment and track ChatGPT-origin orders using ShopifyQL, GA4, or their BI stack.
Brand experience & content control
- Shopify Plus merchants are expected to gain deeper customization, including custom branding data (logos, rich media, enhanced descriptions).
- Dynamic responses could be powered by a brand’s own GPT or AI assistant through the ACP “Agent Hand-off” endpoint.
- Localized variants would allow ChatGPT to surface regional stores and currencies via Shopify Markets.
Certification, compliance, and enterprise rollout
- Enterprise participation will likely require ACP conformance certification managed jointly by Shopify and OpenAI.
- Shopify Plus brands may receive dedicated technical onboarding and support.
- Certification will help ensure product feeds, order APIs, and payment flows meet OpenAI’s reliability and privacy standards.
- Once certified, brands should be able to deploy across multiple markets under one organization ID.
More complexity for non-Shopify brands
If your store is not on Shopify (for example, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Adobe Commerce, custom, or other), participating in ChatGPT commerce is possible but far more technical and resource-intensive.
You’ll need to implement the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), building checkout APIs, webhooks, and integrations yourself, and maintain a structured, up-to-date product feed that meets OpenAI’s data standards. Payments must be ACP-compatible, meaning you’ll process transactions via Stripe or another PSP that supports tokenized payment flows.
Finally, brands must apply and pass certification through OpenAI’s merchant program to ensure compliance, reliability, and data security before going live. In short, non-Shopify merchants face higher setup complexity, stricter technical requirements, and a longer path to activation.
Key Considerations for Success
The Importance of Schema
Unlike traditional ecommerce, where users browse pages and filters, ChatGPT relies entirely on schema to interpret queries like “eco-friendly yoga mat under $50” or “formal black dress with sleeves.” If those attributes aren’t accurately captured in your feed, your products simply won’t surface in results.
This means brands must invest in clean, structured, and complete product data. Every SKU should include standardized titles, clear descriptions, variant options, sizes, materials, colors, prices, stock levels, and shipping details — all mapped to OpenAI’s product feed schema (based on the Agentic Commerce Protocol). Rich metadata also supports follow-up questions: when a user asks “is this waterproof?” or “can I get it by Friday?”, as ChatGPT pulls those answers directly from your structured data.
Site optimization for AI search matters
AI systems like ChatGPT don’t “rank pages” in the same way Google does. Instead, when a user asks a question like “best running shoes for flat feet,” the AI tries to generate a concise, relevant answer by pulling together the most trustworthy, readable, and interpretable data it can access. If your product pages, or your site in general, aren’t structured, clear, or machine-readable, your chance of being selected or cited drops. This is sometimes referred to as Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) or Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) optimizing so that AI agents include your brand or products in their responses.
So even if you’re a brand on Shopify, this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll see an immediate uptick in sales through ChatGPT, you have to be discovered first.
Domaine’s response
Domaine is embracing the evolving AI-driven commerce landscape by integrating Shopify's latest AI capabilities into its ecosystem - both through Domaine Labs, its dedicated R&D division, and by incorporating new services to better meet brand needs. With the launch of our AI Commerce Suite, Domaine enables brands to navigate this new era of conversational commerce, where discovery, personalization, and checkout increasingly happen inside AI platforms like ChatGPT.
Connect with our team at Domaine to explore how we can help you integrate Shopify’s latest AI capabilities, optimize for ChatGPT discovery, and future-proof your ecommerce strategy.
FAQs
What is the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP)?
ACP is an open commerce standard co-developed by OpenAI and Stripe. It defines how AI agents communicate with merchant systems for product feeds, checkout, and payments — allowing multiple platforms, not just Shopify, to sell through AI assistants.
Why is product schema important for AI commerce?
ChatGPT and other AI engines rely on structured markup, including titles, descriptions, attributes, pricing, stock, and variants, to understand and rank products. Missing or inconsistent data can prevent products from appearing in conversational search results.
How can brands improve visibility in AI search?
Optimize for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) by:
- Using complete schema markup (
Product,Offer,Review,FAQPage) - Keeping feeds accurate and real-time
- Writing natural-language product copy that answers buyer questions
- Allowing AI crawlers (like
OAI-SearchBot) to access product pages
When will ChatGPT commerce expand beyond the U.S.?
As of late 2025, ChatGPT Instant Checkout supports U.S. users and merchants only. OpenAI has confirmed that multi-item carts and international expansion are in development, but we don’t have a clear outline of when that will happen.
