AI E-commerce Hitting Roadblocks? ChatGPT Reportedly Scales Back In-App Shopping to Refocus on Traffic Generation

[Ebrun Original] According to a report by The Information, OpenAI is adjusting its strategy in the AI shopping sector and is considering pausing the in-app checkout feature within ChatGPT. In the future, after users see product recommendations in ChatGPT, they will need to redirect to e-commerce platforms or independent websites to complete their payments, instead of placing orders directly within the ChatGPT conversation interface.

Some market analysts suggest that OpenAI's exploration of AI shopping over the past few months has not been smooth.

For instance, while many users utilize ChatGPT to search for and compare products, this activity often remains in the information-gathering stage and has not yet evolved into a habit of completing purchases within the AI assistant.

On the other hand, merchants remain cautious about integrating with AI shopping. During a previous investor meeting, Shopify revealed that, despite its strong push for AI shopping, only a few dozen out of the millions of merchants in its ecosystem have connected with ChatGPT for sales.

For ChatGPT itself, it also faces various technical challenges, such as real-time inventory synchronization, price updates, logistics information, and fraud risk control.

Against this backdrop, OpenAI is recalibrating its AI shopping approach. A relevant spokesperson stated that the current focus is on enhancing ChatGPT's capabilities in product search and discovery, prioritizing traffic generation, while the transaction process will increasingly be completed on the platforms or independent sites that ChatGPT integrates with.

Meanwhile, some platforms continue to advance their cooperation with AI assistants. For example, both Shopify and Etsy, in their recent earnings calls, still view AI shopping as a potential growth opportunity. During the latest earnings call, Shopify's management stated that since January 2025, the number of orders driven to Shopify stores through AI searches has increased 15-fold, and 2026 is expected to be the year of large-scale implementation for AI shopping.