PayPal's Honey Integrates with ChatGPT & AI for Smarter Shopping

PayPal Honey Integrates with AI Chatbots for Enhanced Shopping Assistance

Following a recent collaboration with Google in the realm of agentic commerce, PayPal has unveiled new functionalities for its PayPal Honey browser extension. These additions are geared towards providing AI chatbot users with Honey’s product suggestions, current pricing information, and access to available discounts while they research potential purchases.

AI-Powered Product Discovery

When users pose shopping-related inquiries to their chosen AI chatbot, the PayPal Honey extension will present links to the products recommended by the AI. Alongside these links, users will receive real-time pricing updates, a list of merchants offering the items, and any applicable promotions, according to PayPal.

The system is also designed to identify instances where the AI’s recommendations might overlook major retailers. It will then proactively display these additional options to the consumer, ensuring a more comprehensive overview of available choices.

Boosting Sales and Price Comparison

These features are strategically implemented to empower consumers with improved price comparison capabilities. Furthermore, they aim to stimulate merchant sales by incorporating personalized offers, PayPal explains.

AI Agnostic Approach

PayPal has indicated to TechCrunch that the agentic shopping integrations are built to be compatible with a variety of AI platforms. Initial support will be provided for OpenAI’s ChatGPT, with plans for expansion to include other AI models in the future.

Broader Agentic Commerce Strategy

This launch represents a component of PayPal’s wider initiative to integrate agentic commerce. This includes the partnership with Google, an agentic commerce offering, a remote MCP server, and the Agent Toolkit. Additional partnerships, such as a free year of Perplexity’s premium service and complimentary access to the new Comet browser, are also part of this strategy.

Competition from AI Providers

The AI providers themselves represent a competitive force for products like Honey, as they increasingly develop their own product recommendation and merchant connection capabilities. For example, OpenAI recently announced plans to challenge Amazon and Google with its own agentic shopping system, featuring an “Instant Checkout” function.

Shifting Shopping Landscape

Initially, OpenAI’s system will support Etsy, with Shopify integration planned for the near future. This signals a broader trend in the AI era. Instead of traditional web browsing or utilizing platforms like Amazon, users may begin their shopping research directly within AI chatbots. This shift necessitates innovative products like the Honey integration, as it alters the landscape where Honey previously gained prominence.

Addressing Recent Controversy

The introduction of these AI features follows a period of negative publicity for Honey. A YouTuber publicly accused the company of misappropriating funds from influencers by incorrectly claiming credit for sales generated by content creators. This accusation has resulted in legal action against the company.