New Technology / Big Tech
Monitor Big Tech strategy, platform competition, corporate decisions and structural shifts across the global technology sector.
OpenAI’s Shopping Gamble
Topic
OpenAI's Commerce Strategy
Key insights
- OpenAI is focusing on ChatGPT apps for commerce, but user awareness and engagement remain low. This poses challenges for adoption
- Users must navigate to chatgpt.com/apps to access available apps, requiring explicit action during chats
- Instacart exemplifies OpenAIs strategy, integrating checkout features for streamlined grocery ordering in ChatGPT
- OpenAI is moving to app-based checkouts, enhancing user experience by allowing transactions within the app interface
- Merchant investment in app development is uncertain, impacting the strategys success
- Traffic for ChatGPT apps is low but shows signs of gradual growth, indicating potential user discovery
Perspectives
Analysis of OpenAI's commerce strategy and merchant responses.
OpenAI's Approach
- Highlights OpenAIs focus on app-based commerce through ChatGPT
- Warns that user engagement with apps remains low
- Notes that users must explicitly call apps to access them
- Indicates that success depends on consumer adoption and merchant investment
- Reports that Instacart is the primary example of OpenAIs commerce strategy
Merchant Perspectives
- Questions whether merchants find the app development worthwhile
- Reports that Etsy is developing a ChatGPT app
- States Shopify will not build a ChatGPT app, requiring users to visit merchant sites
Neutral / Shared
- Acknowledges that OpenAI is expanding its commerce team
- Notes that some teams are working on multiple projects, including payments and subscriptions
- Clarifies that the checkout process is shifting more responsibility to merchants
Metrics
traffic
pretty low overall all traffic units
current user engagement with ChatGPT apps
Low traffic indicates challenges in user adoption of new features.
they've seen pretty low overall all traffic coming from these apps so far
growth
has been growing over the past couple of weeks and months units
recent trends in user engagement
Indicates potential for increased user discovery and engagement.
it has been growing over the past couple of weeks and months since they launched it
traffic
traffic is not really the thing that they're measuring success on just yet units
merchant perspective on app traffic
Highlights the experimental nature of the current commerce features.
traffic is not really the thing that they're measuring success on just yet
team_size
continuing to invest in commerce and they're expanding the size of the commerce team
OpenAI's investment in commerce
This reflects OpenAI's commitment to enhancing commerce capabilities.
continuing to invest in commerce and they're expanding the size of the commerce team
user_experience
adding several more steps than before
Instacart's checkout process
Increased steps may hinder user experience and adoption.
adding several more steps than before
Key entities
Timeline highlights
00:00–05:00
OpenAI is focusing on app-based commerce through ChatGPT, but user engagement remains low, requiring explicit actions to access apps. The success of this strategy hinges on consumer adoption and merchant investment in app development.
- OpenAI is focusing on ChatGPT apps for commerce, but user awareness and engagement remain low. This poses challenges for adoption
- Users must navigate to chatgpt.com/apps to access available apps, requiring explicit action during chats
- Instacart exemplifies OpenAIs strategy, integrating checkout features for streamlined grocery ordering in ChatGPT
- OpenAI is moving to app-based checkouts, enhancing user experience by allowing transactions within the app interface
- Merchant investment in app development is uncertain, impacting the strategys success
- Traffic for ChatGPT apps is low but shows signs of gradual growth, indicating potential user discovery
05:00–10:00
Etsy is developing a ChatGPT app, while Shopify will not, requiring users to visit merchant sites for checkout. OpenAI is expanding its commerce team, indicating a commitment to enhancing commerce capabilities despite project overlaps.
- Etsy is developing a ChatGPT app, while Shopify will not, requiring users to visit merchant sites for checkout
- The shift to app-based checkouts increases development demands on merchants, potentially deterring participation
- OpenAI is expanding its commerce team, indicating a commitment to enhancing commerce capabilities despite project overlaps
- Instacarts checkout process adds complexity, which may hinder user experience and adoption
- OpenAIs new model reflects feedback from merchants and users, with future effectiveness dependent on ongoing input
- Traffic for ChatGPT apps remains low but shows gradual growth, suggesting increasing consumer awareness