PayPal Integrates with ChatGPT for In App Purchases

PayPal and OpenAI Announce Landmark Partnership

In a significant move for the future of e-commerce, PayPal has officially partnered with OpenAI to embed its digital wallet directly into ChatGPT. This exclusive deal, confirmed to CNBC, positions PayPal as the first payments wallet available within the world's leading consumer AI tool. The market responded with immediate enthusiasm, sending PayPal's shares soaring by as much as 13% following the announcement.

How the ChatGPT and PayPal Integration Works

Starting next year, this collaboration will bridge both sides of PayPal's vast network with the AI platform. According to PayPal CEO Alex Chriss, PayPal's millions of users will be able to purchase items they discover through ChatGPT, while PayPal's extensive network of merchants can list their inventory and sell directly on the platform.

"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," Chriss stated. For merchants, the process is streamlined; PayPal will manage payment routing, validation, and other backend processing, meaning individual sellers won't need to sign up separately with OpenAI.

The Dawn of Agentic AI Shopping

This partnership is a cornerstone of OpenAI's strategy to expand ChatGPT's capabilities into e-commerce, transforming it into a tool that acts like a human personal shopper. With over 700 million weekly users, the potential is massive. This follows OpenAI's recent e-commerce efforts, including integrations with Shopify, Etsy, and a major deal with Walmart.

Chriss described this evolution as a "whole new paradigm for shopping," adding, "It's hard to imagine that agentic commerce isn't going to be a big part of the future." PayPal is aiming to be the payments backbone for this new era, evidenced by other recent deals with giants like Google and AI firm Perplexity.

A Trusted Ecosystem for AI Commerce

CEO Alex Chriss emphasized the high level of trust and security inherent in the deal. Because both consumers and merchants are already verified within PayPal's network, the risk of fraud is significantly reduced for everyone involved. Users can fund their purchases using linked bank accounts, credit cards, or stored balances, all while benefiting from PayPal's established consumer protections, package tracking, and dispute resolution services. "It's not just that a transaction can happen," Chriss said. "It's that this is a trusted set of merchants... with the largest set of verified consumers in a consumer wallet."

In addition to the consumer-facing integration, PayPal is also expanding its internal use of OpenAI's enterprise AI products to help accelerate its own product development cycles.

The Competitive Landscape

OpenAI's move into payments also involves other key players. At the launch of its Instant Checkout feature last month, OpenAI announced a partnership with Stripe. Stripe's service, Link, allows users to pay merchants with stored card and bank account information. However, many fintech experts note that while Link has 200 million users, it is not yet considered a full digital wallet as it cannot store funds and lacks a consumer mobile app, distinguishing it from PayPal's comprehensive offering.