Microsoft turns Copilot chats into a checkout lane
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Microsoft is pushing shopping and checkout directly into its Copilot assistant, a move that could reshape where e-commerce transactions happen and who controls the funnel.
Why it matters: Big Tech is racing to turn AI assistants into the front door of the internet.
- If checkout happens inside AI conversations, retailers risk losing direct customer relationships — while platforms like Microsoft gain leverage.
Driving the news: Microsoft unveiled new agentic AI tools for retailers at the NRF 2026 retail conference, including Copilot Checkout, which lets shoppers complete purchases inside Copilot without being redirected to a retailer's website.
- The checkout feature is live in the U.S. with Shopify, PayPal, Stripe and Etsy integrations.
State of play: Microsoft is betting shopping urgency favors AI-driven commerce. New Adobe data shows traffic to retail sites from generative AI tools jumped more than 693% during the 2025 holiday season, underscoring how fast AI-assisted shopping is spreading.
- This puts Microsoft squarely in competition with Amazon, Google Shopping and social commerce platforms.
By the numbers: Copilot apps have more than 100 million monthly active users, spanning consumer and commercial audiences, according to the company.
- More than 800 million monthly active users interact with AI features across Microsoft products more broadly.
- Shopping journeys involving Copilot are 33% shorter than traditional search paths and see a 53% increase in purchases within 30 minutes of interaction, Microsoft says.
- When shopping intent is present, journeys involving Copilot are 194% more likely to result in a purchase than those without it.
How it works: Shoppers complete purchases directly inside Copilot chats, according to Microsoft.
- Retailers remain the merchant of record, while Microsoft controls the interface.
Zoom in: Microsoft also announced Thursday it is rolling out:
- AI shopping agents trained on a brand's catalog.
- Tools that auto-enrich product data from images.
- Store-operations agents that can recommend staffing and inventory decisions based on real-time data.
Yes, but: Copilot's roughly 100 million monthly active users trail ChatGPT's much larger user base, which OpenAI has said reaches about 800 million weekly users.
- OpenAI's ChatGPT shopping efforts have gotten off to a rocky start, with high-profile partners not yet available and others still waiting for details to join, according to a new report from The Information.
What we're watching: Much of the announcement centers on templates, previews and promises, not proven adoption.
- Agentic AI remains an emerging concept — and retailers may be wary of letting AI platforms sit between them and their shoppers.
