OpenAI has officially announced the introduction of the “immediate billing” feature in ChatGPT, which is supported by an artificial smart payment protocol developed by Stripe, which allows U.S. users to complete the purchase of individual items directly in ChatGPT dialogue without having to jump to an external website or App.
The essence of the “immediate closure” function is to upgrade ChatGPT from the “product recommendation” to the “transaction implementer”. Users refer to shopping needs in conversations, such as “Help me find a New Yorker T-shirt”, ChatGPT not only generates options, but also pops up the purchase buttons to achieve a zero friction process from browsing to paying. The functionality, which is initially open to United States users, focuses on individual Etsy platform commodities (e.g., hand-carriages, tailor-made clothing) and will be extended to mainstream generators such as Shopify and Amazon. According to official Stripe data, this agreement has integrated millions of sellers of platforms such as Etsy, with the first day of testing transactions exceeding $5 million. The core technology is supported by the AI payment agreement developed jointly by Stripe and OpenAI (Agentic Company Protocol), which allows AI smarts (Agent) to process payments, inventory queries and refunds on their own. Will Gaybrick, Chief Product Officer of Stripe, stated: “We worked with OpenAI on an agreement to transform AI from an advisory tool to an operational implementer to help businesses capture instant transformation opportunities.”
Specific processes include: Smart Matching: ChatGPT, based on user history and real-time queries, recommends individualized commodities with an accuracy of 95 per cent. Secure payment: Link key payment for integrating Stripe to support credit cards, Apple Pay and encrypted currency, reduced to five seconds. Commercial access: Etsy sellers are able to embed ChatGPT through API without additional development, with a commission rate of only 2.9 + $0.30 per pen.
“Shopping-related queries account for 15 per cent of the 700 million users who interact each week. The immediate closure of the accounts translates these opportunities into real income, while increasing user stickiness.” The first week’s test showed a user conversion rate of 12 per cent in the United States, well above the rate of 3 per cent in traditional electricians. This function is on line at the critical node of the commercialization of OpenAI. Since the ChatGPT fire in 2023, the number of users has surged to 700 million per week, but free users account for over 80 per cent, resulting in only $3.5 billion (YoY by 25 per cent) in the first half of 2025, well below the projected estimate of $200 billion. The immediate closure is the third-ever variable scene following the “ChatGPT Plus” subscription ($20 per month) and Enterprise API, with a projected first-year contribution of $1 billion. As a global payment giant, Stripe played a crucial role, having received more than $40 billion from Q3 in 2025, and this cooperation not only injected technology but also shared trading commission (1-2 per cent for OpenAI). Deeper drivers are AI electrician trends: The McKinsey report shows that the global AI-driven shopping market was $150 billion in 2025, with the 700 million user base of ChatGPT giving it a pre-emptive advantage. Similar to Apple Intelligence shopping integration of apples, OpenAI aimed at “dialogue electricians” and allowed users to “talk and buy”.
The greatest “kill” in immediate settlement is the impact on Google. Google ‘ s search ads generated over $100 billion in the first half of 2025, relying on the product search link jumper model. But ChatGPT’s closed-door shopping will block the flow: users will be able to complete the transaction without going to Google and are expected to encroach on 5-10 per cent of the search advertising share. Fortune analyses say: “This is not just a shopping tool, but also Google’s `time bomb’ — the AI agent will `steal’ tens of billions of dollars from the search.” OpenAI plans to expand up to one item of commodities and international markets in October and integrate visual search in 2026. CEO Sam Altmann states: “The immediate closure of the accounts is only the beginning and AI will redefine the business”. At a time when Google’s share of the search is declining, this function has helped OpenAI to collect billions. For the users, ChatGPT is no longer a chat tool, but the “City of Hand” — the next era of asking AI to buy something — has arrived.
