ChatGPT and other AI assistants are now wired to help you shop, but the promised revolution in AI-powered commerce is moving at a crawl. Shopify announced last week that millions of its U.S. merchants can now let customers find and buy products directly through conversations with ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. The integration sounds transformative, yet the reality tells a different story: adoption has been slow, revenue impact remains minimal, and experts remain skeptical that agentic commerce will deliver the windfall retailers are hoping for .

Why Is AI Shopping Taking Off So Slowly?

When Shopify and OpenAI first announced their agentic commerce partnership last September, the vision was clear: people would research, select, and purchase products without ever leaving their chat window. That dream has been scaled back significantly. OpenAI initially planned to charge retailers a 4 percent transaction fee for in-chat purchases, but later shelved those plans and removed the fee entirely, instead directing shoppers to an in-app browser to complete transactions . The result is a muddier experience that feels less like true agentic commerce and more like traditional shopping with an AI middleman.

The numbers reveal just how early this technology remains. Before Shopify's announcement, only about a dozen merchants were actively using its agentic commerce capabilities, according to Shopify president Harley Finkelstein . Among the early testers were bigger brands like Glossier and Kim Kardashian's shapewear line Skims, but the broader merchant base has been hesitant to adopt the technology . Shopify reported that orders from AI chats grew 15 times since January 2025, but as analyst Dan Romanoff from Morningstar noted, that statistic lacks crucial context: the base was effectively zero, meaning any growth looks impressive on paper .

What Do Retailers Actually Need to Make AI Shopping Work?

Industry experts agree on one thing: agentic commerce needs to make shopping demonstrably better and easier than existing methods. Ken Wong, managing director of software research at Oppenheimer & Co., emphasized that opening up the technology to more merchants won't move the needle on Shopify's bottom line immediately . The real challenge is converting casual browsing into actual purchases at scale.

There are some encouraging early signals. Kurt Elster, a Shopify Plus expert at Ethercycle, has been tracking ChatGPT referral traffic to the stores he manages for over a year. He observed that traffic from ChatGPT has been growing steadily, and crucially, it converts to sales at a higher rate than other referral sources . This suggests that when people use AI to discover products, they're more likely to buy them. If this pattern holds as adoption grows, it could validate the entire agentic commerce thesis.

How to Position Your Business for AI-Powered Shopping

• Integrate with AI Platforms: Retailers can now add their products to Shopify's agentic commerce network, making them discoverable through ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot without building their own AI infrastructure .
• Optimize Product Descriptions: Since AI agents recommend products based on conversational context, clear, detailed product information becomes critical for visibility and conversion in AI-driven discovery flows .
• Monitor Conversion Metrics: Early adopters like Elster's clients are seeing higher conversion rates from AI referrals compared to traditional channels, making it worth tracking performance separately from other traffic sources .

Shutterstock is taking a complementary approach by embedding licensed creative content directly into ChatGPT workflows. The company launched a Shutterstock app in ChatGPT on April 1, 2026, allowing users to discover and license images, videos, music, and sound effects without leaving their conversation . This positions Shutterstock as the licensed content layer within AI-native workflows, enabling marketers and creators to move from ideation to production without breaking their ChatGPT session .

Paul Teall, Vice President of Marketplace Strategy at Shutterstock, stated: "Our customers trust Shutterstock as a leading source of high-quality, licensable content, powered by sophisticated AI technology. This launch brings commercial confidence directly in ChatGPT, enabling teams to move from discovery to content production."

Paul Teall, Vice President of Marketplace Strategy at Shutterstock

"Our customers trust Shutterstock as a leading source of high-quality, licensable content, powered by sophisticated AI technology. This launch brings commercial confidence directly in ChatGPT, enabling teams to move from discovery to content production," said Paul Teall, Vice President of Marketplace Strategy at Shutterstock.

Paul Teall, Vice President of Marketplace Strategy at Shutterstock

When Will Agentic Commerce Actually Matter to Your Bottom Line?

The timeline for meaningful revenue impact remains uncertain. Dan Romanoff predicts that AI could account for up to 10 percent of Shopify's merchant sales revenue within five years, but that's a cautious estimate based on current adoption rates . Martin Toner, managing director of institutional equity research at ATB Capital Markets, acknowledged the potential while tempering expectations: "It's reasonable to think that it's going to accelerate growth. But you're pushing a very, very, very large boulder" .

Dan Romanoff

One major concern is whether agentic commerce will actually grow the overall e-commerce pie or simply cannibalize existing online purchases. Romanoff suggested that tight household budgets mean chatbot shopping will likely shift spending from traditional channels rather than create new demand . Shopify, however, remains bullish, with spokesperson Rachael Hensley noting that "every big shift in how people shop has grown the commerce pie," citing early growth as evidence .

Romanoff

Shopify's chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister downplayed the near-term importance of agentic commerce to the company's financial outlook, stating that Shopify doesn't need it to have a major impact for the company to continue demonstrating strong growth rates . This suggests that while the company is investing in the technology, it's not betting the farm on it.

The broader picture is one of cautious optimism mixed with realistic skepticism. Agentic commerce is real, it's growing, and early adopters are seeing positive conversion signals. But the technology is still in the discovery phase rather than the transaction phase, and it will take time, better user experiences, and demonstrated value before it becomes a meaningful revenue driver for retailers and platforms alike .