Shopify merchants will reportedly pay a 4% fee on sales made via OpenAI-powered checkouts, on top of standard transaction charges, according to US tech and business publication The Information.
Breaking the news on LinkedIn, The Information reporter Ann Gehan said most Shopify merchants will be able to start selling directly through ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini and AI Mode from 26 January.
She added: “Merchants can toggle AI platforms on or off individually to choose which channels to sell on directly, but their products will still appear in AI responses with links to their own websites.”
Mixed reactions
While the fee had not yet been officially confirmed by OpenAI at the time of writing, news of the proposed 4% checkout charge prompted mixed reactions across LinkedIn.
Some users described the fee as “steep”, while others argued that the key comparison should be against current customer acquisition costs (CAC), rather than traditional ecommerce fees.
One commenter wrote: “The critical P&L question isn’t just about the fee, but whether the conversion rate inside a high-intent chat interface justifies the margin erosion.” Another said: “Fee sounds steep for thin margin retailers, but the cost saving elsewhere for paid ads may far outweigh the fees.”
That view was echoed by Max Sinclair, CEO and founder of Azoma.ai, an AI visibility platform that works with brands including Mars, PerfectTed and Koch. He described OpenAI’s proposed 4% checkout fee as “a land grab for the future of commerce”.
“This is a bargain, considering Amazon’s 8–15% referral fees,” he said. “But, where Amazon charges for access to customers, OpenAI is positioning itself as the trusted advisor that controls the purchasing decision itself. This is exponentially more valuable territory.”
Financial pressures driving the move
Sinclair pointed to financial pressure on OpenAI as a likely driver of the move. “The $400 million monthly burn rate is forcing their hand, but it’s actually accelerating the shift to agentic commerce faster than anyone anticipated. Google can afford to figure out monetisation later. OpenAI needs revenue now.”
While the move could open up a significant new revenue stream for OpenAI, it also carries risk. Competing large language models could attempt to win merchant adoption by offering lower fees – or by waiving checkout fees altogether – potentially putting pressure on OpenAI’s pricing power as AI-led commerce begins to take shape.
For retailers, the 4% fee may prove acceptable if AI-led checkout genuinely lowers CAC and captures high-intent demand. For OpenAI, the challenge will be proving that AI isn’t just another sales channel, but a commerce platform that retailers can’t afford to ignore.