OpenAI’s ambitious venture into AI-powered shopping is encountering early hurdles as consumer behaviour proves more resistant to change than anticipated. The company partnered with major retailers, including Walmart, Etsy, and Shopify, to launch agentic shopping through ChatGPT, aiming to allow users to discover and purchase products directly within the AI chat interface using Instant Checkout.
Brandspur Brand News Desk reports that despite the innovation, early adoption has lagged. Conversion rates remain below expectations, revealing a gap between the convenience offered by AI and established online shopping habits. One major limitation is that the initial system supports only single-item purchases, while consumers typically prefer to browse and buy multiple items in a single session.
In response, Walmart is shifting strategy, integrating its AI assistant, Sparky, across multiple platforms such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini to augment, rather than replace, traditional e-commerce. This hybrid model allows multi-item purchases, personalised recommendations, and synchronised shopping carts, enabling users to maintain control while benefiting from AI assistance. Early data indicates that AI-assisted orders result in approximately 35 per cent higher spending per transaction, highlighting AI’s influence on consumer decisions without fully automating purchases.
The experiment underlines a broader industry trend: AI in commerce is currently better suited for enhancing discovery, personalisation, and recommendations than for replacing established shopping behaviours entirely. Companies such as Google, Amazon, and Microsoft are similarly exploring frameworks that augment the customer journey rather than control it.
OpenAI’s initial rollout illustrates a critical lesson for the digital retail industry: technological innovation must align with real-world consumer habits. The future of AI shopping is likely to emphasise augmentation over automation, supporting users throughout the purchase process instead of attempting to dictate it completely.
