OpenAI partners with Walmart to let users buy products in ChatGPT,
furthering chatbot shopping push
[October 15, 2025] By
WYATTE GRANTHAM-PHILIPS
NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI is partnering with Walmart to let shoppers make
purchases directly within ChatGPT, furthering the artificial
intelligence company's push to turn its chatbot into a virtual merchant
as it seeks to boost revenue.
In an Tuesday announcement, Walmart said the new offering will give
customers the option to “simply chat and buy." That means the retailer’s
products would be available through instant checkout in ChatGPT —
allowing users to buy anything from meal ingredients or household items,
to other goods they might be discussing with the chatbot.
“For many years now, eCommerce shopping experiences have consisted of a
search bar and a long list of item responses," Walmart CEO Doug McMillon
said in a prepared statement. “That is about to change.”
Sam Altman, cofounder and CEO of OpenAI, added that the partnership
would "make everyday purchases a little simpler.”
The companies didn't immediately specify when ChatGPT users would be
able to start purchasing Walmart products within the platform. Tuesday's
announcement from Walmart just noted that the offering would be
available “soon.”
But the partnership marks OpenAI's latest expansion into online
commerce. The company has recently launched similar offerings for
Shopify and Etsy sellers.
Teaming up with Walmart — the nation’s largest retailer — marks an even
more sizeable leap for OpenAI in this space. And competing with the
likes of Amazon and Google for purchase fees from digital shopping could
be a new source of money for the company. OpenAI hasn’t made a profit
and has relied on investors to back the costs of building and running
its powerful AI systems.
[to top of second column] |
Shoppers walk from the Walmart store, Aug. 14, 2025, in Manchester,
N.H. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
 When announcing its Etsy and Shopify
partnerships last month, OpenAI said it worked with payments company
Stripe on the technical standards to enable purchases through its
“Instant Checkout” system.
Separately, Walmart has worked to boost its own integration of AI
across operations and its consumer-facing offerings in recent years.
On Tuesday, the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company pointed to its
AI shopping assistant named Sparky, as well as other uses of AI
technology at both Walmart and Sam's Club. Members of Sam's Club,
which is owned by Walmart, will be able to shop through the coming
ChatGPT offering, too — and Walmart has boasted its promotion of “AI
literacy” for its employees.
“AI is transforming everything we do, from smarter catalogs to
faster delivery, and it only works if people trust it,” Daniel
Danker, executive vice president of AI Acceleration, Product and
Design at Walmart said in a statement sent to The Associated Press.
Shares of Walmart were up nearly 5% as of market close Tuesday.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
