The Rundown
- Buyers will be able to shop for Walmart products directly inside ChatGPT.
- The feature works through a simple Walmart account link.
- ChatGPT passes orders to Walmart while keeping users in chat.
- Instant Checkout remains ChatGPT’s built-in native option.
- This move signals a real shift toward in-chat, AI-driven shopping.
How people shop and check out online is entering a new stage of evolution. With AI tools like ChatGPT, shopping can now happen directly inside the conversation, without even visiting a merchant’s website. This shift, known as agentic commerce, uses AI to help users find, compare, and buy products without leaving the chat. Etsy is already integrated, with Shopify coming soon, both platforms partnering with OpenAI to let users shop directly in ChatGPT. Now, Walmart is about to join them, but taking a slightly different approach.
This is a clear line in the sand for conversational commerce. Once users connect their Walmart account, they can buy where they chat, not after a tab hop. Basically, Walmart and OpenAI’s partnership allows OpenAI’s Instant Checkout to pass order details to a merchant’s existing stack using the Agentic Commerce Protocol. The merchant still runs payment, fulfillment, and support, but this partnership keeps operations stable while removing the clunky handoff that kills intent.2

Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
Does shopping through ChatGPT mean users have to link their accounts every time they shop?
No. For example, when users shop on Walmart via ChatGPT, they should only have to link their account once (minus any tech hiccups or updates that could unlink them).
What is Agentic Commerce?
This is when an AI agent can plan, select, and execute a transaction in one flow using a protocol that merchants accept.
Will AI rankings favor in-chat checkouts?
These platforms have incentives to resolve in-chat. This is a big possibility, which is why at Coalition Technologies, we prepare our clients for it with GEO and structured feeds.
How This Is Different From Instant Checkout
Breaking this down through the lens of Walmart, if people are shopping for Walmart products from ChatGPT, the first thing they’ll do is connect their Walmart account. It’s a quick setup, and once connected, ChatGPT can see their delivery address and payment info right from Walmart’s side.
Think of it like adding a plugin. ChatGPT won’t be handling the checkout itself. It will just pass the order to whichever ecommerce store is connected, which finishes the process.
Instant Checkout is built right into ChatGPT, so there’s nothing to connect. It just works with any seller that supports it.
While both experiences are fast, those who shop for Walmart products from ChatGPT give Walmart more direct control over account ties and benefits, while the native route is more universal for smaller merchants. 1 2
What This Means For the Future of AI Shopping
You can clearly see two tracks forming in the approach to agentic commerce. One is a native, protocol-level approach to checkout that’s inside ChatGPT. The other is made up of brand-level integrations like the Walmart and OpenAI partnership that sit beside it.
Native Systems
At first glance, native systems like ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout are more seamless for users since you don’t need integrations, and they happen automatically. So, why would anyone shop for Walmart products from ChatGPT without using this native system?
The answer lies in control. These systems are tightly controlled by platform partnerships and may limit which merchants or platforms are supported by whom.
For instance, a hypothetical case could see Shopify merchants being only shoppable through ChatGPT, while other platforms could be limited to Gemini.
Integrations
The integrations, like the one of Walmart, are more flexible, since they can theoretically work across different Chatbots or LLMs and give merchants more control over how they connect their systems.
Their challenge is that they require more setup, which can cause some friction and limit adoption.
Balancing Both Approaches
People who shop for Walmart products from ChatGPT will definitely have an improved shopping experience, but as in-platform buying becomes possible, an important question in agentic commerce is whether LLMs will favor products that can be purchased directly inside the chat over those that send users to external sites.
How will it balance native checkout options, like Instant Checkout, with third-party integrations like the Walmart and OpenAI partnership, or even paid placements?
If in-chat results can complete a sale, the model has every incentive to present options that resolve inside the conversation. That doesn’t mean pay-to-play today, but ad infrastructure discussions are happening in public posts and coverage. 5 6
Sparky Shows Walmart’s Own AI Angle
The AI connection for Walmart goes even deeper than the ChatGPT integrations. The company is developing its own AI shopping assistant called Sparky, which is already helping some customers search, synthesize reviews, and prep for occasions inside Walmart apps and web. 3 7 8
Are you a seller who wants to make your store shoppable inside ChatGPT?
Why This Matters for Your Ecommerce Setup
Walmart’s integration with ChatGPT means that consumers are going to start expecting more online shops to offer the same experience. By adding this feature to your shop, you’ll not only be able to provide a more streamlined shopping experience, but also offer a familiar shopping experience. In order to capitalize on this, we recommend treating in-chat shopping as another channel you can optimize.
Start with the same fundamentals we use for AI SEO on our clients. That means:
- Structured product data everywhere.
- Query-to-SKU coverage.
- GEO as table stakes.
- Model-friendly trust signals.
- Prepare for the Ads that are coming to LLM surfaces.
Work With Us
To prepare for this new approach to agentic commerce, here are some things you can do.
- Audit whether your catalog and policies are fully structured for model consumption.
- If you sell on Walmart or want to capitalize on those who shop on Walmart from ChatGPT, align your PDP attributes and review schemas with Sparky’s obvious summarization needs.
- Build a small set of “conversion-first” collections that map to everyday replenishment and seasonal intent.
- Pilot a measurement plan that separates AI-surface exposures from traditional search, since early reports show AI surfaces can deliver visibility without proportional clicks.4
If this is all too complicated for you and you just want to focus on other parts of your business, we at Coalition Technologies can help you make your AI game competitive. Contact us today to talk to our LLM experts.
Sources:
- TechCrunch, “You’ll soon be able to shop Walmart from ChatGPT,” 2025.
- OpenAI, “Buy it in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol,” 2025.
- Walmart Corporate Newsroom, “The Future of Shopping Is Agentic. Meet Sparky,” 2025.
- Search Engine Land, “AI Overview citations don’t drive clicks like blue links,” 2025.
- Search Engine Land, “OpenAI is staffing up to build a ChatGPT ad platform,” 2025.
- Digiday, “OpenAI’s advertising change of heart,” 2025.
- Walmart Corporate, “Walmart partners with OpenAI to create AI-first shopping experiences,” 2025.
- Walmart, “Sparky AI Shopping Assistant,” product help page.