Shopping in ChatGPT: Adapting product photos for conversational AI

On 29 September 2025, OpenAI and Stripe announced Instant Checkout, allowing US-based ChatGPT users to buy products without leaving the chat. 

The feature launched with Etsy sellers and will soon add more than a million Shopify merchants. Purchases are processed directly in the conversation through the Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP), an open standard co‑developed by OpenAI and Stripe.

Let’s discuss how this update impacts shopping patterns and what ecommerce businesses should do to attract sellers via conversational AI. 

How does Instant Checkout work?

When a shopper asks questions like “best running shoes under $100” or “gifts for a ceramics lover,” ChatGPT returns product suggestions drawn from across the web. If a product supports Instant Checkout, a “Buy” button appears. The user confirms order details and payment inside the chat. 

Payment information is secured by Stripe’s Shared Payment Token, so ChatGPT never sees the customer’s card details. 

Once the user confirms, ChatGPT sends the order to the merchant’s backend via ACP; the merchant can accept or decline the order, process payment with their existing provider, and handle fulfillment. Merchants pay a small fee per completed purchase.

What influences results?

The most important thing here is, product suggestions are organic and unsponsored. When multiple merchants sell the same item, ChatGPT considers factors such as availability, price, product quality, and whether Instant Checkout is enabled. Reviews and structured data also play a role. 

Speaking of product visuals, conversational AI values contextual photos—those that provide lifestyle variability and answer to natural shoppers’ questions (“how this chair would look like next to a sofa?” or “would these glasses fit my kitchen style?”).

What does the update mean for ecommerce businesses?

This update is yet another confirmation that Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) becomes essential.

ChatGPT’s shopping feature shifts product discovery from search engine result pages to conversational AI. To be surfaced in ChatGPT results, your catalogue must have up-to-date, exhaustive data on each product, context-rich reviews, and high-quality, contextual visuals.

Lifestyle product visuals are now ranking signals

ChatGPT displays product recommendations as a carousel of visual cards that include an image, simplified description, and price. 

Here are some tips to increase your chances of being surfaced in ChatGPT-powered shopping:

• Use multiple angles and rich lifestyle imagery. Lifestyle or contextual shots help customers visualise the product in real‑world settings, which may improve relevance scores.
• Maintain consistency and clarity. Crisp, well‑lit photos with plain backgrounds help AI correctly identify product features.
• Offer transparent backgrounds. Since ChatGPT can help users imagine chosen products in real-life settings, providing transparent PNGs will improve AI discoverability.
• Optimize alt text and metadata. Include descriptive alt attributes that match likely queries. AI uses this metadata to match products to intent.

How Claid can help make your product visuals generative engine-optimized

Optimizing visual content at scale is challenging. Instead of hiring photographers, models and studios, Claid’s AI Photoshoot lets you generate hundreds of images that address real consumer questions. 

• With the Precise mode, you can generate a gallery of consistent images that highlight your products from the best angle.
• With the Creative mode, you can create infinite lifestyle variations to showcase your product in different settings.
• You can show products in hands or being used by AI‑generated models, helping shoppers gauge scale and usability.
• You can place your products in different interiors and contexts (for instance, show a coffee tumbler in a tourist setting and a home office spot, or show how your chair looks like in a minimalist and maximalist design).

Take advantage of the new, conversational AI shopping

While Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol are not yet available globally (only select US-based Etsy sellers and Shopify stores can process purchases directly in ChatGPT now), it still makes sense for ecommerce brands everywhere to start optimizing their product photos. 

Gain a head start in visibility and trust when conversational shopping becomes mainstream. And since customers don’t scroll through galleries but ask questions in a chat shopping flow, your visuals should provide answers to their questions—by showing products on different backgrounds, from different angles, and in different lifestyle contexts.