Hi and welcome back to another edition of The Keyword.

This week: OpenAI has taken a step back from their ‘Instant Checkout’ feature inside ChatGPT. So, for the time being at least, ChatGPT will make product recommendations but shoppers will be directed to the retailer to complete the transactions. Which means a little less change for us all to contend with! More below.

— Kole

Coming up:

OpenAI has abandoned its plan to let users buy products directly inside ChatGPT, according to The Information.

Instead, users who discover products through ChatGPT will be redirected to retailer apps and websites to complete purchases.

The reports suggest that internal data showed shoppers using chat to research products but more reluctant to follow through with an in-chat purchase.

The business model also created friction with merchants, with OpenAI owning the transaction layer, limiting merchants’ access to customer data and post-purchase relationships.

Google took the opposite approach with its version of in-chat checkout. Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP) keeps merchants as the seller of record with full ownership of customer data and loyalty programs. It’s already live now for select US merchants on AI Mode in Search and Gemini, with global expansion planned.

What it means

OpenAI is likely to make another run at ‘conversational commerce’. But for now it seems that while many are happy to let an AI handle the heavy lifting of product research, shoppers perhaps aren't quite ready to hand over their credit cards to a chatbot without a direct link to the brand.

Google’s updated guide explains how merchants should submit product data in Google Merchant Center to show within Google’s Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP).

According to Bloomberg, Meta AI enables users to ask for product recommendations and receive results displayed as image carousels with brand names, prices, short explanations, and links to retailer websites.

Advertisers can now place ads directly in the ‘Updates’ tab, reaching users as they browse Status posts and Channels.

A report from Flywheel estimates that the platform could reach about $1 trillion in annual sales and capture 14.6% of global market share. The projection ranks it behind Amazon and Pinduoduo.

Brad Lightcap said OpenAI will roll out ads in ChatGPT gradually, prioritizing user privacy and trust while improving the experience over time.

The integration allows brands to buy placements inside ChatGPT’s conversational interface through Criteo’s commerce media platform. The move comes weeks after OpenAI began testing ads, with select agencies and brands already taking part.

Starting in Q2, U.S. advertisers will be able to use Amazon shopping and browsing signals to target Netflix campaigns through programmatic platforms.

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