Earlier this month, the industry was abuzz about ChatGPT’s launch of Instant Checkout, a feature that enables users to purchase products directly through its AI chatbot without visiting the individual store. This buzz has been amplified by OpenAI’s October 14 announcement of a partnership with big-box giant Walmart. The deal will allow ChatGPT’s 700 million weekly users to buy Walmart products through regular conversations. Doug McMillon, Walmart’s president and CEO, said, “F
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Earlier this month, the industry was abuzz about ChatGPT’s launch of Instant Checkout, a feature that enables users to purchase products directly through its AI chatbot without visiting the individual store.This buzz has been amplified by OpenAI’s October 14 announcement of a partnership with big-box giant Walmart.The deal will allow ChatGPT’s 700 million weekly users to buy Walmart products through regular conversations.Doug McMillon, Walmart’s president and CEO, said, “For many years now, e-commerce shopping experiences have consisted of a search bar and a long list of item responses. That is about to change. There is a native AI experience coming that is multi-media, personalised and contextual.”While Etsy and Shopify merchants have tested similar features, Walmart’s integration with OpenAI represents the first significant milestone in AI-powered commerce.As Scott Benedict, the founder and CEO of Benedict Enterprises, an omnichannel retail consulting firm, told Inside Retail, “Walmart’s partnership with OpenAI represents a pivotal shift in how retail connects discovery and purchase.“For years, retailers have optimised search and recommendation engines to guide shoppers efficiently, but generative AI changes the paradigm entirely – from ‘find and filter’ to ‘ask and advise’.”“By integrating ChatGPT into Walmart’s shopping journey, the company is effectively building a conversational commerce layer that can interpret intent, context and emotion – not just keywords. The potential is enormous.”However, Benedict cautioned that there are still real hurdles ahead that will require retailers to go all in.Retail experts reflect on OpenAI integration: Keep up or be pushed outAnna Beller, Coresight Research’s vice president of advisory, has said that she views Walmart’s move as further confirmation of the direction of travel toward agentic commerce.“Agentic commerce is not incremental. It represents a rearchitecture of retail visibility, where brand presence depends on data readiness, not advertising budgets. Retailers that adapt early, including structuring their data for generative AI systems, will gain a first-mover advantage in an ecosystem that merges discovery and purchase into one experience.”Beller noted that with the rise of agentic commerce, retailers and brands should begin:Treating ChatGPT as a distinct sales channel and integrating product feeds and fulfilment as part of an omnichannel strategy.Adopting SEO practices and optimising product titles and descriptions to match conversational queries.Auditing product data quality to meet agentic communication protocol standards.Leveraging AI to enhance personalisation and cross-channel visibility.Even where retailers are not ready to embrace in-app checkout on ChatGPT, Beller pointed out that they should take steps to ensure their product listings are visible on the platform, as it becomes a destination for research and comparison when shopping.Similarly, CI&T’s global director of retail strategy, Melissa Minkow, remarked that brands that don’t hop onto the AI train will be the first to get left behind.“ChatGPT and other GenAI platforms are going to be a key first step in the shopping journey for many consumers. If brands choose not to be searchable there, they will miss out.”Minkow added that this shift will not “cannibalise nor cheapen a brand,” but will instead allow it to be discoverable in an additional channel.The potential risks of OpenAI integrationAs the president of research firm Customer Management Practice, Mario Matulich, told Inside Retail, “Walmart’s partnership with OpenAI signals a major leap in conversational commerce. It proves, yet again, that AI is no longer a novelty but the future of the retail experience.”However, while Matulich predicts that this move will strengthen customer loyalty and data insights, he said that it will inevitably raise some challenges as well.For example, Matulich warned that an overreliance on AI could lead to data breaches or poor customer service.“Retailers need to use AI, not let AI use them. Technology does not build customer loyalty; human interaction does. So, let’s see how Walmart navigates this move.“If done correctly, it could transform how large retailers use AI as we know it. If not, it will prove what CMP Research has seen all along: even the most advanced and impressive technology can’t compensate for poor customer service.”On a more positive note, Benedict noted that if Walmart’s OpenAI partnership is executed well, it could redefine omnichannel retail. Essentially, making the path from inspiration to purchase “as intuitive as conversation itself”.“If anyone can leverage this solution successfully, it would be them,” Benedict concluded.Further reading: How ChatGPT’s checkout could reshape online retail: ‘It will change the game’.
