Introduction: Shopping Just Changed Inside a Chat Window
***non-members can read the story here***
For years, we’ve been trained to shop a certain way.
Search → Click → Add to cart → Fill forms → Checkout.
It’s so ingrained in our digital lives that we don’t even question the friction. Yet OpenAI just flipped this script. With its new Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT, you can now move directly from a conversation to a purchase. No new tabs. No redirect. Just chat, click, buy.
It sounds simple, but this shift could ripple through e-commerce, search, and even how we think about the role of AI in our daily lives.
Let’s unpack what’s new, how it works, and why it matters — not just for big merchants, but for the future of solopreneurs and AI-native commerce.