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In the world of online payments, the buzzword these days is frictionless, as companies entice customers with increasingly convenient online payment options. Think the online equivalent of a biometric handwave: the fewer steps involved, the more customers will buy, experts say. With that aim in mind, the growing presence of generative AI such as ChatGPT in the shopping ecosystem may next take a shape that has a seismic impact on the economic model of internet retail.
Currently, a search for a large London Fog men’s coat on ChatGPT will bring up a purchase option, but you still have to click over to London Fog’s site to complete the transaction. But that may soon change.
Gen AI search engine Perplexity already has a deal with PayPal for this kind of function, allowing online shoppers to make purchases such as concert tickets and travel directly in chat, with payments completed with PayPal
or Venmo, and PayPal handling the processing, shipping, tracking, and invoicing.
