PayPal teams up with OpenAI to enable payments in ChatGPT
PayPal has announced a deal with Sam Altman’s OpenAI to embed its digital wallet directly into ChatGPT, allowing its users to shop and pay for products through the AI platform starting in 2026.
Under the agreement, PayPal’s global network will be linked to OpenAI, enabling millions of items to be purchased instantly within ChatGPT.
This move forms part of a broader push by OpenAI to expand its “agentic commerce” model, in which AI agents can shop, compare prices, or complete transactions on behalf of users.
PayPal chief executive Alex Chriss said the integration ensures customer protections, including package tracking and dispute resolution.
He said: “We’ve got hundreds of millions of loyal PayPal wallet holders who now will be able to click the ‘buy with PayPal’ button on ChatGPT and have a safe and secure checkout experience.”
The fintech giant will also manage payment processing and verification for sellers on ChatGPT, meaning individual merchants won’t need to register separately with OpenAI.
For consumers, this deal will allow them to pay via linked bank accounts, credit cards, or stored balances.
OpenAI’s strategy
The partnership follows OpenAI’s recent e-commerce integrations with platforms like Shopify, Etsy, and Walmart, as the tech behemoth pushes to make ChatGPT a practical tool for transactions.
Chriss described the development as “a whole new paradigm for shopping”, as he casts AI as a personal shopping assistant.
What’s more, the rollout coincides with wider experimentation in AI-driven commerce.
Roman Stanek, chief executive of GoodData, said: “ChatGPT’s instant checkout rollout marks a major shift in how commerce, AI, and data intersect. These developments empower AI agents to act on behalf of users, converting insights into autonomous, revenue-generating actions.”
“Ignoring AI commerce today is like ignoring e-commerce 20 years ago, and that did not work out well for existing market leaders,” he added.
PayPal’s stock jumped by roughly four per cent in the wake of the announcement, as the company also reported third-quarter earnings and announced expanded use of OpenAI’s enterprise AI tools.
The initiative reflects a broader trend of AI integration across consumer platforms.
Spotify, for example, recently partnered with OpenAI to embed its music and podcast recommendations inside ChatGPT, allowing users to discover content through conversational queries.
The global streaming platform has emphasised that the feature is limited to discovery, with no content shared for AI training.
With millions of users now able to transact through AI interfaces, companies like PayPal are increasingly positioning themselves as key infrastructure providers in what many are calling the next frontier of agent-driven e-commerce.