2 min read
In a major step toward AI-driven e-commerce, PayPal has announced a partnership with OpenAI to allow users to shop and pay directly within ChatGPT, beginning in 2026. The integration combines PayPal’s trusted payment infrastructure with OpenAI’s new “Instant Checkout” feature enabling users to complete purchases without leaving the chat interface.
As artificial intelligence reshapes online shopping, OpenAI introduced the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) an open-source standard that lets merchants showcase their products within AI apps. PayPal is now adopting ACP, becoming one of the first global payment providers to enable AI-powered transactions inside conversational tools.
Through this collaboration, users will be able to use their PayPal wallets to confirm orders, handle shipping details, and make payments directly in ChatGPT.
“Hundreds of millions of people turn to ChatGPT each week for everyday help, and over 400 million use PayPal to shop, said Alex Chriss, President and CEO of PayPal. By partnering with OpenAI, we’re enabling seamless payments that take people from chat to checkout in just a few taps.”
PayPal will also support card payments through a separate payments API and ensure buyer protection, seller protection, and dispute resolution remain integral to the ChatGPT shopping experience.
Starting next year, merchants using PayPal’s platform will have their products automatically discoverable in ChatGPT, beginning with categories such as fashion, beauty, home improvement, and electronics. They won’t need custom integrations PayPal will manage routing, payments, and catalog visibility behind the scenes.
The company also plans to launch an Agentic Commerce Suite, allowing merchants to showcase their product catalogs across multiple AI apps and gain insights into consumer behavior through real-time analytics.
Broader Strategy
This partnership follows PayPal’s previous AI collaborations with Perplexity and Google, reinforcing its goal to become the default payment partner for AI-driven platforms. Additionally, PayPal has granted enterprise access to ChatGPT for all employees, enabling its engineers to leverage OpenAI’s Codex tools for development and innovation.
