Walmart Plugs Into ChatGPT, Rewiring the Rules of Retail

Walmart is partnering with OpenAI to allow shoppers to buy products directly within the ChatGPT interface, a major move that shifts e-commerce from the search bar to the chatbot window, as reported by Grocery Dive. The deal signals a bet on a conversational future for online shopping, where AI assistants not only suggest products but also complete the purchase.

• OpenAI's tollbooth: The integration uses OpenAI’s “Instant Checkout” feature, which is already being adopted by Etsy and Shopify merchants. While free for consumers, OpenAI takes a transaction fee from retailers, giving the AI firm a direct cut of the new retail channel it is building and a powerful incentive to influence what users buy.

• Who owns the customer?: The collaboration creates a new tension over who controls the shopping journey. Every query provides valuable data on consumer intent, but as one analysis points out, it's unclear if that data belongs to Walmart for fulfilling the order or OpenAI for hosting the conversation. This ambiguity is compounded by OpenAI’s admission that merchants enabling the feature will rank higher, turning the AI into a new kind of gatekeeper.

• The final checkout: As AI models become the primary interface for product discovery, the power dynamics that have governed online retail for decades are being fundamentally rewired, moving the point of purchase from a retailer's website into a conversation controlled by a third-party algorithm.

Walmart isn't the only one betting on conversational commerce, as other major players like Uber, Instacart, and Target are also integrating with ChatGPT. Meanwhile, rival Amazon is taking a different path, focusing on its own proprietary AI tools rather than partnering with outside firms. The market responded favorably to Walmart's move, with shares jumping nearly 5% to a 52-week high on the day of the announcement.