In a major expansion of artificial intelligence–powered commerce, PayPal announced that its digital wallet will be directly embedded into ChatGPT, allowing users to make purchases from within the AI platform. The agreement with OpenAI, finalized over the weekend, positions PayPal as the first digital wallet to become part of ChatGPT’s growing e-commerce capabilities.

Starting next year, both sides of PayPal’s ecosystem will plug into ChatGPT: consumers can purchase items they discover through the AI tool, while merchants can sell their products directly through it.

“We’ve got hundreds of millions of loyal PayPal wallet holders who now will be able to click the ‘Buy with PayPal’ button on ChatGPT and have a safe and secure checkout experience,” said Alex Chriss, PayPal’s CEO, in an interview with CNBC.

The partnership builds on OpenAI’s recent expansion into e-commerce integrations. Last month, ChatGPT users gained the ability to shop from Shopify and Etsy, and two weeks ago, OpenAI announced a new e-commerce deal with Walmart.

Chriss called the collaboration “a whole new paradigm for shopping,” describing it as the beginning of agentic commerce—a future where AI acts as a personal shopping assistant capable of discovering, recommending, and completing transactions for users.

The integration allows PayPal users to make payments using stored balances, linked bank accounts, or credit cards directly within ChatGPT. Verified PayPal merchants will be able to list and sell their inventory inside the AI tool without needing to register separately with OpenAI.

Behind the scenes, PayPal will manage merchant routing, payment validation, and other back-end processes—ensuring that transactions between verified buyers and sellers remain secure. The company says its existing network of vetted merchants and users significantly reduces fraud risk.

Consumers will benefit from buyer protections, including dispute resolution, refund options, and package tracking, mirroring the safeguards PayPal users already expect.

“It’s not just that a transaction can happen,” Chriss explained. “It’s that this is a trusted set of merchants, the largest merchant network in the world from PayPal, that are verified, with the largest set of verified consumers in a consumer wallet.”

The deal extends beyond payments. PayPal will also expand its use of OpenAI’s enterprise AI products internally, helping employees accelerate product development cycles and improve operational efficiency.

The partnership complements PayPal’s broader strategy to become the infrastructure layer for AI-powered commerce. The company has recently announced collaborations with Google and Perplexity AI, underscoring its push to remain central to the evolving agentic AI ecosystem.

During the announcement, PayPal also released its third-quarter earnings, coinciding with a 4% jump in share price as investors reacted positively to the news.

The move intensifies competition among fintech and AI players seeking dominance in AI-driven payments. Last month, OpenAI unveiled its Instant Checkout feature, developed in partnership with Stripe, which enables users to pay participating Etsy merchants using stored card or bank details through Stripe’s Link system.

While Stripe describes Link as a digital wallet with 200 million users, the service cannot yet store funds or provide a standalone consumer app—two capabilities that distinguish PayPal’s wallet as a full-service solution.

By embedding its infrastructure within ChatGPT, PayPal now gains a first-mover advantage in the rapidly emerging space of AI-integrated payments, which analysts view as a key step toward mainstream agentic commerce adoption.

Q1: What’s new about this partnership?
A: PayPal becomes the first payments provider integrated directly into ChatGPT, allowing both buyers and sellers to complete secure transactions within the AI platform.

Q2: How will users benefit?
A: Consumers will enjoy familiar PayPal protections, including refunds, dispute resolution, and real-time package tracking—all within ChatGPT.

Q3: How does this affect merchants?
A: Merchants already verified through PayPal can reach ChatGPT’s 700 million weekly users without needing to separately register with OpenAI. PayPal will handle the routing, validation, and back-end payment infrastructure.

Q4: What does this mean for OpenAI?
A: The integration strengthens ChatGPT’s e-commerce capabilities, turning it from a conversational AI into a transactional platform that can discover, recommend, and facilitate purchases.

Q5: What’s next for PayPal?
A: The company plans to further expand its AI partnerships and internal OpenAI product use, aiming to solidify its position as a core payments provider for AI-driven commerce.

The PayPal–OpenAI partnership marks a turning point in AI’s evolution from conversation to transaction. By embedding PayPal’s trusted wallet into ChatGPT, the companies are effectively merging conversational AI with secure digital payments—bringing agentic AI shopping into the mainstream.

For consumers, it offers convenience and safety; for merchants, a powerful new sales channel; and for OpenAI, another step toward making ChatGPT a universal interface for work, learning, and commerce.

As AI continues to bridge the gap between search, recommendation, and purchase, this collaboration positions PayPal and OpenAI at the forefront of a future where AI not only informs decisions but completes them.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant used for research and drafting. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.