When Open AI announced it plans to enable Instant Checkout, an in-chat check-out feature, it was met with raised eyebrows. Some in skepticism, some in curiosity but most in confusion. It’s an interesting idea, the AI recommends something and then lets you buy it then and there. However, it seems that most people aren't that excited to immediately purchase the first thing that’s recommended to them. And that's before you take into consideration the fact that people aren't leaping at the chance to hand over their payment information over to anyone who asks.

Coupled with the fact that simply navigating to the page of the recommended item required nothing more than a scant few extra clicks and it seemed as though Open AI had invented a solution to something that wasn’t yet a problem. And, evidently, the market agrees.

What does this all mean for eCommerce stores?

Despite Open AI’s desire and attempts to expand ChatGPT into being more than just a search tool or chatbot, it seems that the market isn’t quite as ready to see it as anything else yet. While product discovery through AI tools is surging, with roughly 64% of consumers using AI for product discovery, conversion rates are far below what AI companies have anticipated.

This, in addition to the fact that few merchants were even using native ChatGTP checkout has meant that while AI is very quickly changing the game in search, traditional check-out options are still the preferred method for the overwhelming majority of customers. As a result of this, an OpenAI spokesperson has said that they are scaling back Instant Checkout’s availability and moving it to apps, where purchases happen inside connected services rather than natively in ChatGPT. 

Does this matter?

In a word, yes. It’s easy to discount this situation as a failed experiment and write it off. But, there is a lot of valuable information inherent in looking at why it failed. The obvious answer is that consumers are slow to adopt new things, especially considering that painless and trustworthy online transactions are a long solved problem. 

Looking closer, however, it does reveal a very interesting piece of data: the speed at which AI driven discovery is being adopted. This proves that AI is not the silver bullet that some seem to think it is, where any AI can be floated and be immediately accepted. And, because of that, it also shows how incredibly powerful AI search has become to be so widely used despite consumers’ reticence to engage with other AI services.

Now, more than ever, it is vital to ensure strong GEO (generative engine optimization) to stay competitive in the current online landscape that, more and more, is being dictated by AI driven search.

What does this mean for the future?

While consumers might not be making purchases in-chat just yet, it is becoming clear that e-Commerce operations should be keeping an eye on what, exactly, is happening in the AI space. And should be looking to keep an open mind about strategic integrations with AI platforms. At present, the current estimate of brands that are structured to appear in AI generated answers are fewer than 15%.

Staying abreast of current changes in the space is a good way to gain valuable insight in customer behaviour. Failed lightbulb vs. successfully learning how not to build a light bulb and all that. And truthfully, it never hurts to keep an eye on potential new products. There was as much reason to expect that AI search would fail as there was to assume that AI assisted payments wouldn’t fail.