Shopify Merchants to Pay 4% Fee on ChatGPT Checkout Sales

Recently, ChatGPT came up with a direct checkout option for online sellers. This option allows customers to not just ask the AI bot for product recommendations, but also to directly make a purchase. Hence, sellers can get instant conversion, and the cart abandonment rate tends to reduce. Also, getting through the customers’ critical choices gets easier. While offering all these benefits to the sellers, ChatGPT is going to charge something. Sam Altman’s OpenAI recently announced a 4% transaction fee for Shopify merchants selling through AI commerce. This fee is going to directly impact the sellers and their profit margins. This blog will help you understand what would happen as a result of this decision from ChatGPT. 

What is ChatGPT Instant Checkout?

As the name itself suggests, the ChatGPT Instant checkout feature allows consumers to make instant purchases directly from ChatGPT. For enabled Shopify products, sellers will notice a Buy button on the product that directly gives them access to purchase. So, there is no need to actually go and visit the Shopify store to make the purchase. With multiple payment options like Card, Apple Pay, Link, and Google Pay, customers can get through the process quickly. The feature is available for ChatGPT Pro, Plus, and logged-in Free users in the United States. Other than Shopify, it can be enabled for Etsy items. 

Why Shopify Sellers Should Enable ChatGPT Checkout?

The use case of ChatGPT is widely distributed in different nooks and corners of the globe. The US and India each account for 16% of the total, followed by Brazil, Canada, and several Western European markets. It allows sellers to have the following advantages when they enable their products for ChatGPT checkout: 

1. International Expansion 

Since ChatGPT's shopping feature is a global platform with such an expansive reach, sellers can reach a much wider audience. Global advertising and marketing involve hefty costs, and OpenAI’s bots' international visibility of products tends to increase. 

2. Low Cart Abandonment

When ChatGPT suggests certain products, customers are not confused with multiple product options. Hence, the ultimate option is selected by the customer, leading to low cart abandonment, solving one of the most pressing concerns of the seller. 

3. Seamless Shopping Experience 

The shopping experience presented to the consumers on ChatGPT is quite seamless. They simply describe their need and requirement of the product, and ChatGPT is ready with the best fit. Such a quick and efficient process allows sellers to get maximum sales with minimal effort. 

4. Multiple Payment Methods 

Having a pool of options just for payment allows customers to make quick decisions. The transactions can be made through credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or Link. There is no hassle for customers with such an integrated system. 

5. Easy Fulfillment 

Once the seller has optimized the content for their products for ChatGPT visibility, they simply have to focus on fulfillment. Not to forget, fulfillment itself can also be automated with an e-commerce integration software. So, orders will be dropping in, and fulfillment will be taken care of by the software. In short, everything is sorted. 

Who All Gets Affected? 

Whenever there is a change, there are certain groups of people who are affected by the change. Here’s a list of who all: 

• US-Based Merchants: These sellers get the maximum hit from the recent announcement. Shopify stores operating in the US are going to face a profit cut.  
• Opt-In Users: The Shopify sellers who have intentionally opted for this instant checkout option on ChatGPT are subject to the 4% fee only. 
• Direct to Customer (D2C) Brands: the brands that make direct sales to the customers are affected by this change, as it tightens the profit margins for them. 

Working of Instant Checkout Fee Explained 

Instant Checkout fee works like this: 

• Firstly, the seller needs to understand the 4% of the fee is levied only on the orders finished through ChatGPT. 
• Also, there is a  30-day free trial period that starts after the first qualifying order. 
• The calculation of charges includes item price, shipping, and taxes. 
• The participation in this model is not automatic. The store has to be based in the United States. 
• Apart from this, Shopify Payments needs to be enabled because the Agentic Commerce Protocol relies on integrated payouts. 
• In addition to all the above pointers, sellers need to access supplemental terms for agentic storefronts. If not met, the instant checkout feature will be disabled. 
• Once the confirmation for eligibility is received, Shopify activates the trial for ChatGPT Shopify Sales orders, and sellers can then monitor the performance of the AI model from the admin dashboard. So, sellers can also keep a check if their investment is worth it.  

Tips for Sellers 

With such a change coming up, sellers need tips to make ChatGPT selling work better than others: 

1. SKU Planning

Sellers need not put up all their products for Instant checkout; they can first check their high-margin products with ChatGPT and plan the SKU accordingly. So, you are still making profits, and testing is done effectively. 

2. Make the Content Readable for AI

For ChatGPT to display your products as a recommendation, the content needs to be optimized accordingly. Make sure to include the right keywords and describe the usage and features of the product completely. 

3. Consistency is the Key

You need to make sure that the content across all sales channels is similar. If the same is not consistent across different platforms, ChatGPT might not pick up the product to recommend the same to the consumers. 

4. Trust the Process 

Sellers need to make sure that they do not hassle through the process. The initial months of this AI promotion will be testing and will require patience. So, make sure you gather data insights and act upon them for better scaling. 

Conclusion

ChatGPT 4% checkout fee should not be as much of a problem for the seller if they have the right strategy and planning to implement. Also, with the help of multichannel ecommerce software, sellers can grow further. It allows the business to fulfill orders effectively and consistently. Just like ChatGPT Shopify integration, sellers can integrate 3PL and ERP for efficient business management using integration applications. For now, sellers just need to figure out the SKUs that can be tested for ChatGPT Instant Checkout and an integration system that automates the selling process for high-end selling and 10X growth.