Is ChatGPT’s Buy It With Shopify a Threat to WooCommerce?

Oct 16, 2025
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6 min read

TLDR; ChatGPT’s “Buy It” isn’t revolutionary; it already exists with Google Search. Shopify doesn’t have the edge (that it thinks it has) over WooCommerce with their Open AI partnership. But that doesn’t mean you should ignore ChatGPT as a search engine.

ChatGPT’s “Buy It with Shopify” is changing how people shop online. You can now find and buy products right in the chat – no need to open new tabs or visit a store page. ChatGPT’s AI connects with Shopify’s checkout to create something that feels fast and natural.

So what about WooCommerce? It’s the market leader for small to medium businesses running online stores. Should we be worried that ChatGPT’s Shopify integration will take over?

If you’re bullish on WordPress like we are, you know that Shopify is not a threat. WooCommerce serves a different audience: people who want a free online shop with 100% control and customization. Shopify plus ChatGPT brings some convenience potentially, WooCommerce brings freedom and flexibility.

Not to bury the lede, but after we wrote this article, a WordPress plugin was released by Shopify; it requires a signup for a trial.

“Testing Shopify’s new WordPress plugin was both fun and revealing. It’s a solid first step toward bridging the two worlds, but not a WooCommerce killer.”
Business Bloomer

But this shift matters. Shopify is raising the bar for AI-powered shopping experiences. WooCommerce merchants need to keep up. The question isn’t whether WooCommerce can survive. It’s how it can stay competitive and innovative. You just can’t ignore omnichannel anymore.

Here’s what’s happening, and how you can use it to help your clients.

How Instant Checkout Works

Ask ChatGPT something like, “Where can I find an SEO plugin under $50?” You’ll get product results with prices, photos, and a “Buy Now” button. Click it, and you’re checking out right there in the chat.

No new tabs. No redirects. Just conversation to cart-to-done.

Shopify and Etsy merchants provide the products. ChatGPT provides the interface. Stripe helped build the payment system (they call it the Agentic Commerce Protocol). The whole thing is designed to feel smooth and quick.

This isn’t new. Instagram has products, TikTok has a shop, Facebook has a marketplace. Shopping happens where the conversation happens. And we have always said, “you can’t sell anything without a conversation.”

What This Means for Merchants and Shoppers

For Shopify merchants: You just got a new sales channel. Millions of people use ChatGPT every day. Now they can buy from your store without leaving the conversation. You’re not waiting for customers to find your site; you’re meeting them where they already are.

For WooCommerce merchants: The bar just got higher. Shopify stores now reach buyers in ChatGPT conversations. That puts pressure on you to compete where it matters most– faster checkouts, better experiences, and smarter personalization. Your flexibility is still an advantage, but you need to use it.

For shoppers: Buying in a chat feels easy. That means every other checkout will get compared to it. Long forms, slow loading, and confusing flows will stand out more than ever. Speed and simplicity are the new baseline.For the market: AI tools aren’t just helpful anymore; they’re transactional. Commerce is spreading into chat windows, voice assistants, and everyday tools. If your store only exists on your website, you’re missing opportunities.

WooCommerce Still Matters – Here’s Why

“If you’re looking to start a shop, we think both WooCommerce and Shopify are great options; they just take quite different approaches to online selling.”
Rocket.net – Why WooCommerce is Still Better Than Shopify

Let’s get this straight: WooCommerce isn’t going anywhere, it still does things that chat-based buying can’t touch.

Full customization: You control every plugin, payment gateway, design choice, and feature. You’re not locked into someone else’s system.
Data and SEO: You own your customer data. You can optimize your site for search engines. You can integrate with any CRM or analytics tool you want.
Hosting control: Pick your server. Tune your performance. Scale however you need to.

WooCommerce gives you control. Instant Checkout gives you speed. They’re not the same thing.

If your clients need a custom experience, deep integrations, or a branded shopping journey, WooCommerce is still the right tool. This isn’t about replacing it. It’s about recognizing that shopping now happens in more places.

And let’s not forget that in order for products to show up on ChatGPT, your SEO game needs to be on point. WordPress has the SEO infrastructure to beat Shopify any day of the week like with product page URLs.

Oh and by the way, this little search tool called Google also has AI mode. ChatGPT is just trending; not dominating.

The Bigger Picture: Shopping Happens Everywhere

“Personalization is crucial. If you can excel at personalization, you’ll differentiate yourself. It’s better to offer unique value propositions your competitors have difficulty replicating.”
Rocket.net – The Key to More WordPress Agency Sales

People don’t just shop on websites anymore. They browse on Instagram, ask questions in chat, click links in emails, and check reviews on their phones. The path from discovery to purchase is messy and non-linear.

The brands that win are the ones that meet customers wherever they are. That means building systems that work across multiple channels — not just optimizing one.

ChatGPT’s checkout feature is just another channel. WooCommerce merchants don’t need to fear it. They need to adapt to it.

1. Test conversational tools on your sites. Try chatbot plugins that let users browse and buy inside a chat widget. See what works. Learn what feels natural to shoppers.

Check out the 10 Best WooCommerce Chatbot Plugins in 2025

2. Make your checkout faster. Even if chat buying grows, people will still buy on websites. Make sure yours loads fast, has fewer form fields, and works great on mobile. Remove every bit of friction you can. How can you do that?

3. Think in journeys, not pages. Map out how your customers move between channels. Can someone start shopping in an email and finish on your site? Can they ask a question via chat and complete the purchase later? Build bridges between those touchpoints.

Example: (email → chat → site → purchase) Is your shopping experience seamless rather than siloed?

4. Own your customer data. If AI tools are changing how people find products, your best advantage is knowing your customers better than anyone else. Use your CRM. Segment your audience. Personalize their experience.

Checkout the Hubspot WooCommerce CRM plugin

5. Watch the AI commerce space. New tools are coming. Some will integrate with WooCommerce. Be ready to test them early. Stay curious.

This is more of a strategic principle than one that necessarily has “examples yet.” Many WordPress chat plugins now support OpenAI / GPT / DialogFlow as backends. Keep your eyes open.

6. Speed matters more than ever. When people can buy in two clicks from a chat, they’ll notice when your site takes five seconds to load. Optimize images. Use caching. Make speed a priority.

Checkout optimization reduces cart abandonment. Use a good caching / CDN setup, reduce plugin bloat, minimize third-party scripts. Read Why the Edge matters for eCommerce.

7. Show clients why customization matters. Not every business fits in a one-size-fits-all system. WooCommerce lets you build custom flows, run A/B tests, and create unique experiences. That’s your edge. Make sure clients understand it.

Because WooCommerce is open and extensible, you can adapt flows (chat handoff, upsells, alternate checkout paths) rather than being locked into one rigid funnel.

What’s Coming Next

“Adobe reported a 1,950% year-over-year increase in retail site traffic from chat interactions during 2024’s Cyber Monday. Shoppers are ready to embrace more advanced AI agents.”
Adobe.com

Chat shopping isn’t a gimmick. ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout is a glimpse at what’s ahead: shopping that happens in conversations, not just on store pages.

But that doesn’t mean traditional eCommerce dies. It means it evolves. WooCommerce evolves. The best agencies and brands will treat chat-native commerce as one more channel in their toolkit; not a replacement for everything else.

So, if you or your clients are still thinking about “my online store,” this is your wakeup call. Businesses that think about “shopping wherever my customers are” will thrive.

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