Harley Finkelstein, CEO of Shopify, has confirmed that his company is collaborating with AI giants for a future where consumers may shop across their search applications.
Finkelstein’s comments come after rumors of a burgeoning partnership with OpenAI.
The partnership would allow consumers to search for products, gain more information, and purchase them, all via ChatGPT.
Those rumors caught fire when OpenAI announced a shopping experience for the large language model (LLM) in April.
Already, that shopping experience enables users to search for and compare products, yet it sends them off to the retailer’s website for purchase.
Shopify could offer OpenAI – and its competitors – the missing link.
Finkelstein didn’t directly address the OpenAI rumors. However, when asked about how LLM providers could influence the commerce market during an earnings call, he stated:
We’re working with pretty much every single company that you have in mind to ensure that we are surfacing Shopify products, Shopify merchant products when people are searching for it… We think it’s a huge opportunity.
However, while Shopify could unlock a new sales channel for its customers, there is a longer-term risk.
After all, the likes of OpenAI could, over time, develop a similar commerce capability themselves.
Friend or Foe? Shopify Is Publicly Optimistic for the Future
As Finkelstein suggests, LLMs could unlock a new sales channel for Shopify merchants, similar to what happened with social media commerce.
The CEO is hopeful that history will repeat itself. He said:
The more channels that exist in the world, the more complexity it is for merchants and brands; that’s where the value of Shopify really shines.
“So, if there’s a new surface area, whether it’s through AI agents or LLMs and AI wrappers, that a consumer goes to look for a new pair of sneakers, a new cosmetic, or a piece of furniture, they want to have access to the most interesting products for the most important brands, and those are all on Shopify,” Finkelstein added.
However, there is a risk that LLM providers could switch from friends to foes as the technology continues to advance rapidly.
Indeed, ChatGPT and its rivals could begin to facilitate direct checkout within their own platforms. So, Shopify could effectively help coordinate its own downfall.
Yet, Finkelstein was quick to dismiss these concerns publicly. He defiantly explained: “Shopify was absolutely built for times like this, times where things seem uncertain or unclear. This is when we thrive, whether in 2008, the pandemic, or right now.”
Where Did Rumours Materialize?
Rumours of the OpenAI-Shopify collaboration started circling when a code leak suggested that OpenAI tested native shopping capabilities within Shopify.
This came shortly before OpenAI announced that it would let users shop directly from ChatGPT’s search results. Here’s what that shopping experience looks like.
According to an OpenAI LinkedIn post, its goal is to streamline shopping, making it easier to search, compare, and purchase products within ChatGPT.
To achieve this, it has enhanced its product search results, now displaying visuals, pricing, and reviews for greater clarity.
The move comes after OpenAI recorded one billion searches on ChatGPT in just one week.
Yet, expect its rivals to also begin to unveil similar capabilities, including Google, which remains the dominant search engine.
