Remember when PayPal was just that thing you used to buy questionable items on eBay? Well, plot twist: they just became the first payment company to crack the ChatGPT code, and their stock is having a moment.
PayPal’s shares jumped 11% faster than you can say “artificial intelligence” after announcing they’re teaming up with OpenAI. And honestly? It’s about time someone figured out how to make buying stuff through AI less of a digital nightmare.
Here’s the deal: ChatGPT users can now shop on platforms like Shopify and Walmart directly through the chatbot (because apparently we needed another way to impulse buy). But here’s where PayPal swooped in like the payments superhero we didn’t know we needed – they’re the first wallet to actually integrate with ChatGPT.
Translation: You can now go from “Hey ChatGPT, find me a new coffee maker” to actually buying said coffee maker without leaving the chat. It’s like having a personal shopper who never judges your 2 AM purchasing decisions.
PayPal CEO Alex Chriss is clearly excited about this “Agentic Commerce Protocol” (yes, that’s a real thing they’re calling it). In corporate speak, he said it helps people “go from chat to checkout in just a few taps.” In human speak: fewer clicks between wanting something and owning it. Dangerous? Maybe. Convenient? Absolutely.
Why this matters for your portfolio: PayPal has been having a rough year – down 10% while everyone else was riding the AI wave. They were basically the kid who showed up late to the AI party while companies like Nvidia were already doing keg stands.
But this OpenAI partnership? It’s their golden ticket back to relevance. While other payment companies are still figuring out what AI even means, PayPal just became the default way to actually buy stuff in the AI ecosystem.
For OpenAI, this is another step in their master plan to make ChatGPT your everything app. First, they taught it to write your emails (and probably do your homework). Now they want it to handle your shopping too. Next stop: probably doing your taxes and walking your dog.
The bottom line: This isn’t just about payments – it’s about positioning. PayPal just secured prime real estate in the AI shopping mall that everyone’s building. And with ChatGPT processing 2.5 billion messages daily (yes, billion with a B), that’s a lot of potential “add to cart” moments.
Sure, we’re probably one step closer to accidentally buying a yacht while asking ChatGPT about weekend plans. But hey, at least PayPal will make the transaction smooth.
The stock market clearly approves of this “let’s make AI shopping actually work” strategy. And honestly? In a world where we’re all slowly becoming cyborgs anyway, having a payment system that doesn’t make us want to throw our phones might be worth celebrating.