OpenAI has openly expressed its ambitions to expand into the e-commerce space. To this end, it has signed deals enabling users to shop directly through ChatGPT from platforms like Shopify and Etsy, as well as announcing a partnership with Walmart. The latest addition to this campaign is PayPal, which will allow buyers and sellers to complete transactions using OpenAI’s technology.
From PayPal’s perspective, this tie-up reflects what CEO Alex Chriss describes as three significant shifts in commerce:
1. **A massive global shift to digital wallets**
2. **A real shift towards buy now, pay later (BNPL)** — driven primarily by younger generations changing the way they spend, potentially taking market share away from traditional credit cards
3. **The rise of agentic commerce** — commerce facilitated by intelligent agents working on behalf of consumers
These three shifts have the potential to recast the entire commerce landscape. Chriss states, “These are generational shifts that we are well positioned for and must win in.”
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### Expanding Beyond Legacy Online Checkout
Last September, PayPal launched *PayPal Everywhere* in the US as a first move beyond what Chriss calls “our legacy in online branded checkout.” According to him:
> “We need to be available everywhere a consumer wants to make a purchase.”
But the initiative is about more than just channel presence. It fundamentally expands what PayPal means to customers and the overall spending it can capture. Historically synonymous with online retail payments, PayPal is now evolving to cover all commerce needs — including services, subscriptions, bills, everyday expenses, and more.
> “We are now playing for a much bigger addressable market,” Chriss emphasizes.
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### Agentic Commerce Ambitions
To achieve its vision for agentic AI-driven commerce, PayPal is actively partnering with third parties. For example, it recently signed a multi-year partnership with Google to develop new AI shopping experiences. The partnership with OpenAI is the latest step.
According to the official announcement, PayPal will adopt the *Agentic Commerce Protocol* (ACP), a joint initiative between Stripe and OpenAI. This partnership will unlock the convenience of PayPal’s wallet in Instant Checkout — including multiple funding options such as bank accounts, PayPal balances, and cards. It also brings PayPal’s buyer and seller protections as well as post-purchase services like package tracking and dispute resolution, all highly valued by consumers.
PayPal will also support OpenAI Instant Checkout through its delegated payments API, managing payment processing for card payments. Behind the scenes, PayPal will handle merchant routing, payment validation, and orchestration.
This integration will make millions of products discoverable and purchasable through ChatGPT.
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### PayPal’s Own Agentic Commerce Services
In addition to the partnership, PayPal has announced its own agentic commerce offerings to enable merchants to sell across multiple AI platforms, including Google, OpenAI, and Perplexity. Merchants will benefit from a single integration that provides access to consumers across various large language models (LLMs).
Chriss explains the vision:
> “We want merchants to be able to sell to consumers anywhere and everywhere. Online, in-person, and through agentic commerce — which is just an evolution of this strategy.”
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### Why PayPal Is Poised to Win
Chriss expresses confidence that PayPal is exceptionally well-positioned to succeed in this evolving space:
– **For merchants:** Integrating with multiple LLMs is complex, especially for small businesses or large enterprises without the resources to manage each separately. PayPal’s agentic commerce services allow merchants to integrate once and access all LLMs, complete with seller protection and the ability to scale.
– **For consumers:** PayPal offers the largest digital wallet ecosystem, delivering trust, safety, buyer protection, and seamless purchasing experiences across multiple LLMs. Consumers get to use the wallet they know, with full support for post-purchase services like tracking, customer service, and returns.
– **For LLM providers:** Building a merchant ecosystem of PayPal’s scale would take over a decade. By partnering with PayPal, these platforms instantly gain access to tens of millions of merchants along with robust identity, authentication, fraud protection, and payment processing capabilities on a global scale.
> “We really feel like we are connecting this ecosystem together,” Chriss states.
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### Looking Ahead: The Long Game of Agentic Commerce
While agentic commerce adoption will take time to meaningfully impact overall purchasing, PayPal aims to meet customers wherever they are — online, offline, or through agentic AI platforms. Its strong positioning across these domains is clear.
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### Final Thoughts
Agentic commerce is still an emerging trend, and consumer behavior will shift gradually. However, PayPal is actively building for this future. CEO Alex Chriss rightly acknowledges this is a long-term play, but the company appears to have made the right moves to lead in the evolving landscape of AI-driven commerce.
The directions are clear, and PayPal looks well-prepared to navigate this journey.
https://diginomica.com/why-paypals-openai-gambit-pays-forward-its-agentic-ambitions-commerce-goes-through-generational
