New: Walmart Brings ChatGPT Shopping to Millions of Shoppers

Walmart announced a major partnership with OpenAI that will let customers and Sam’s Club members browse and buy Walmart products directly inside ChatGPT using Instant Checkout. Shoppers can ask for what they need, get personalized recommendations, and complete payment without leaving the conversation — a clear step toward agentic commerce where AI helps plan, predict, and purchase on your behalf. Official announcement ·

Announcement details

• Customers can plan meals, restock essentials, and discover new products by chatting in natural language with purchases completed via Instant Checkout inside ChatGPT.
• Payment happens in-chat with a single click. Walmart says its full catalog will be shoppable in ChatGPT, with Sam’s Club to follow.
• Walmart frames this as an “AI-first” retail experience that shifts shopping from reactive search to proactive assistance.

Walmart’s vision

CEO Doug McMillon’s message: make shopping more convenient and contextual by pairing Walmart’s assortment and logistics with agentic AI. Walmart will also continue investing in its own models and assistants (like Sparky) alongside the ChatGPT integration.

Why it matters

• One of ChatGPT’s largest retail collaborations to date, joining Etsy and Shopify brand integrations.
• Signals the acceleration of conversational, AI-led shopping where visibility depends on data quality, trust, and the ability to transact inside the chat.

Note: Walmart did not disclose financial terms or a specific launch date beyond “coming soon.”

ChatGPT Instant Checkout and AI-Powered Shopping

OpenAI has turned ChatGPT from a conversational assistant into a direct shopping platform. Its Instant Checkout feature lets users find and purchase products entirely inside a chat, without visiting a website, as outlined in OpenAI’s recent updates and retailer integrations.

Here’s how it works: when a user types something like “buy a stainless-steel coffee mug under $30,” ChatGPT shows a short list of product recommendations with pricing, photos, reviews, and a buy button that completes the transaction in-chat.

Everything from taxes and fulfillment options to payment processing happens in-chat, using OpenAI’s agentic commerce rails in partnership with Stripe.

The rollout started with Etsy sellers and is expanding to Shopify and Walmart merchants, positioning ChatGPT as a virtual merchant for hundreds of millions of users each week.

AI Commerce and the Future of Product Discovery

For twenty years, e-commerce strategy has focused on search rankings, paid traffic, and product pages. ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout compresses that entire funnel into a single conversation.

Shoppers will still search, compare, and buy, but more of it will happen through conversation, not links. Instead of scrolling through dozens of listings, they will ask a question and receive a few curated results. Visibility will depend on whether an AI agent recognizes a product as relevant and credible, not whether it ranks well on a traditional marketplace.

This model rewards brands that invest in data accuracy, structured product information, and authentic reviews. Treat product data like SEO content for AI — call it GEO or AIO — to gain early advantages.

What GPT Shopping Means for E-Commerce Platforms

• Fewer opportunities to be seen. If a query returns six to eight options, product data quality becomes critical.
• Neutral recommendations. ChatGPT does not show paid ads or favored sellers, so results reflect relevance and credibility.
• New dependency on AI ecosystems. Merchants will need to connect their storefront data to OpenAI’s commerce protocol to appear in future GPT searches.

Why Amazon Listings Don’t Appear in ChatGPT Shopping Results

At launch, Amazon listings do not appear in ChatGPT search or Instant Checkout, even for popular consumer products. Amazon has deliberately blocked AI agents, including OpenAI and Google, from crawling or indexing its marketplace via robots.txt and other technical measures. The prevailing view is that opening up would undermine parts of Amazon’s model, including Sponsored Products, on-site recommendations, and control over shopper insights. As a result, ChatGPT surfaces results from integrated merchants like Etsy, Shopify, and now Walmart, while Amazon keeps its ecosystem closed.

Amazon’s Multi-Channel Fulfillment Push: Expansion and Defense

At the same time, Amazon is pushing harder into multi-channel fulfillment with programs like MCF and SEND. This opens Amazon’s network to non-Amazon orders and also acts as a defensive strategy: even if discovery shifts toward external AI environments like ChatGPT, Amazon can still own downstream fulfillment.

In short, Amazon may not appear in GPT’s virtual storefront, but it is positioning to own the last mile when those sales occur.

How Sellers Can Optimize for GPT Search and AI Product Visibility

• Fix your product data. Ensure titles, attributes, GTINs, and structured fields are complete. Use Schema.org Product markup and real-time inventory sync so AI agents can interpret your listings correctly.
• Audit how you appear in AI search. Try natural language queries in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google’s AI overview. Note whether your brand appears, how it is described, and what might be missing.
• Connect commerce feeds early. Apply for access to OpenAI’s merchant integration or other early programs. Early adopters help train the ranking models future agents rely on.
• Streamline multi-channel fulfillment. As buyers move between AI agents, marketplaces, and direct-to-consumer channels, fulfillment speed and accuracy remain the constant differentiators.
• Focus on authenticity. AI systems emphasize verified reviews, trusted sellers, and transparent data. Maintain consistency across every channel so your credibility signals are clear to both customers and algorithms.

The Future of E-Commerce Discovery and AI-Driven Retail

AI-powered shopping is not a threat to established marketplaces. It is a new discovery layer that sits above them. The way search engines once reshaped retail visibility, AI conversations are becoming a new entry point to purchase decisions.

Treat this as a clear signal: visibility is moving from keyword search to conversational intent. To stay discoverable, align your data, fulfillment, and customer experience with how AI understands and recommends your brand.

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