PayPal Becomes First Payment Provider Integrated Into ChatGPT
PayPal has entered into a landmark partnership with OpenAI, becoming the first payment platform to operate directly within ChatGPT.
Starting in early 2026, users of ChatGPT will be able to link their PayPal accounts to the chatbot, allowing them to make purchases and process transactions without ever leaving the OpenAI interface. The collaboration works both ways—PayPal merchants will also gain the ability to sell their products through ChatGPT, effectively transforming the AI assistant into a new kind of digital marketplace (and potentially introducing in-chat advertising).
In an interview with CNBC, PayPal CEO Alex Chriss highlighted the significance of this move:
“Hundreds of millions of PayPal wallet holders will soon be able to click ‘Buy with PayPal’ inside ChatGPT for a fast, secure checkout experience. It’s a completely new way to shop—and it’s clear that agentic commerce will play a major role in the future.”
The partnership aligns with OpenAI’s broader monetization strategy, as the company seeks new revenue sources amid substantial operational costs and growing investment demands. Although ChatGPT boasts more than 800 million active users, only a small portion pay for premium features. By enabling direct purchases through ChatGPT—and taking a share of each transaction—OpenAI hopes to generate income from its massive free-user base.
This development builds on earlier commerce integrations with platforms such as Etsy, Shopify, and Walmart, which already allow users to shop within ChatGPT. With PayPal’s secure payment system added to the mix, the potential for revenue and commissions expands considerably.
For PayPal, this partnership is an opportunity to establish itself as a key player in the next wave of AI-driven shopping and search. As more consumers rely on AI tools to find and buy products, having PayPal embedded as the default payment method ensures it stays ahead of competitors like Stripe or Revolut.
The company is also positioning itself as the infrastructure behind “agentic commerce”—AI systems that act on behalf of users to research, recommend, and purchase products. In addition to OpenAI, PayPal has recently struck similar deals with Google and AI startup Perplexity.
PayPal will handle merchant onboarding, payment verification, and transaction processing for purchases made through ChatGPT. This means sellers won’t need to create a ChatGPT account to have their listings appear in the chatbot’s marketplace.
As part of the broader partnership, PayPal employees will gain enterprise access to ChatGPT, and the company’s engineers will use OpenAI’s Codex to enhance software development and automation capabilities.
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