Why the Shopify x ChatGPT partnership should have you paying attention

What if your next customer doesn't visit your website?

What if they never Google you, scroll your product page, or click "add to cart"?

The future is closer than we think.

Shopify and OpenAI recently joined forces to bring checkout into ChatGPT. Yep, inside the chat. You can search, ask questions, compare, and purchase all without leaving the conversation.

It sounds small but it changes everything.

This isn't just about online shopping. It's about the shape of the internet

If 400 million people start using ChatGPT (that's their weekly active user tally) to search, shop, and ask questions cos that's where we're heading, then the traditional web flow of search>browse>add to cart>checkout starts to look different.

This move doesn't just affect retail. It disrupts search engines, advertising, and user behaviour.

ChatGPT becomes more than just providing answers. Now it'll shape decisions. It's a sales assistant, product reviewer, comparison tool and checkout assistant in one.

And remember, it can be incredibly persuasive. There's research showing LLMs outperform human salespeople in certain settings.

That's not just smart. It's powerful.

It's not just the small players who should be worried

Everyone talks about AI disrupting small business but this move threatens the big guns.

Google, Amazon, Meta - companies that dominate search, product discovery, and ads now have a new competitor.

And it's not building websites. It's building conversations.

Shopify didn't partner with just any AI. They chose ChatGPT because it's winning the adoption race. And right now, that's what matters.

So, what now?

• Rethink how customers find you. If people are searching by chatting, will your business show up? If not, what needs to change?

• Watch your web flows. Are you stuck optimising for clicks when you should be preparing for conversations?

• Start experimenting. If you sell products or services, test how your offering performs in a conversational context. Ask ChatGPT about you. You might be surprised by the answer.

• Stay curious and proactive. This shift won't happen overnight but it is happening. Leaders who wait for the dust to settle may find themselves invisible.

This isn't just about AI. It's about the future of the web

And that future isn't built on pages and tabs. It's built inside conversations. Personalised, fast, and frictionless.

If you're a business leader, now is the time to ask: When customers stop Googling and start chatting, how will your business show up?