OpenAI is working on a payment checkout system for ChatGPT.

This system will allow the company to take a commission from product sales made through the chatbot, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The feature is currently being tested with partners, including Shopify.

This system would provide OpenAI with an additional revenue stream.

It will use ChatGPT’s high user traffic alongside its existing subscription model.

Currently, ChatGPT links to external retailers, but the new system would allow in-chat transactions.

This follows a recent OpenAI-Shopify collaboration aimed at enhancing product discovery.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ OpenAI’s revenue diversification follows platform evolution patterns

OpenAI’s plan to add checkout functionality represents the latest step in its business model evolution, following a predictable platform maturation path.

The company has transformed dramatically from its 2015 founding as a pure nonprofit to a “capped-profit” model in 2019 that allowed investors to earn up to 100x returns before profits flow to the nonprofit entity 1.

This trajectory mirrors other tech platforms that start with building user engagement before monetizing through increasingly integrated commerce features, beginning with subscription revenue and now expanding to transaction fees.

The new checkout system is a logical response to OpenAI’s significant financial pressures, as the company reported losing approximately $5 billion last year despite reaching a $10 billion annualized revenue run rate.

This approach allows OpenAI to leverage ChatGPT’s massive user base while diversifying beyond subscriptions, similar to how some social media platforms expanded from advertising to direct commerce integration.

2️⃣ AI assistants becoming commerce gateways across the industry

Recent OpenAI developments