The Information reported on March 4, citing an OpenAI spokesperson, that the company is focusing on supporting payments in certain apps linked to ChatGPT, rather than letting users buy directly within ChatGPT.

It is not clear why OpenAI has taken a step back on commerce. The number of merchants selling products through payments inside ChatGPT remains small. Even so, OpenAI appears to be considering consumer behaviour patterns.

The Information, citing a person familiar with the project, said OpenAI staff determined that ChatGPT users search for products to buy but are not using ChatGPT for actual purchases.

As recently as 6 months ago, OpenAI highlighted the launch of an in-ChatGPT payment function as a major business opportunity. It called it the start of a significant shift toward people using AI to buy things. To that end, OpenAI also partnered with e-commerce and payments companies such as Etsy, Shopify and Stripe.

When it announced ChatGPT payments for U.S. users in September, OpenAI said users would soon be able to access products from millions of online shopping malls on ChatGPT. Now, Target, Expedia and Booking.com have launched apps for ChatGPT.

Instacart added a payment option in December that lets ChatGPT users pay by linking an existing Instacart account to a ChatGPT account.