Agentic Commerce and the Future of Shopping

In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore the seismic shift happening in online commerce through OpenAI's latest announcements. They dissect how ChatGPT is evolving into an operating system that could fundamentally reshape how we discover and buy products online. The conversation weaves between optimism about removing friction from commerce and concerns about creating "the world's most persistent sales assistant," while examining which companies stand to win or lose in this new landscape.

Key Takeaways

ChatGPT as Commerce OS

• OpenAI announced Apps SDK allowing vendors to embed shopping directly into ChatGPT
• Over 1 million sellers from Shopify and Etsy already integrated
• Stripe partnership enables direct checkout through the chat interface
• Discovery funnel, not website replacement—at least for now

The Agentic Commerce Stack

• Agent Kit: drag-and-drop interface for building AI agents
• Apps SDK: building blocks for the GPT store relaunch
• Sora API: video generation within workflows (featuring impressive Mattel Hot Wheels demo)
• Context-based search replacing traditional keyword search

Winners and Losers

• Under pressure: Google Ads, traditional payment rails (Visa/MasterCard), growth advertising companies
• New opportunities: Brands that master AI-native discovery and metadata optimization
• Critical question: Will recommendations be personalized or auction-based like Google Ads?

The Brand Paradox

• Brand mindshare becomes more important, not less, in an AI-mediated world
• Traditional advertising making a comeback—even AI companies use TV spots to reach mass market
• Examples of principled growth: Patagonia's anti-consumption campaigns, Uniqlo's durability-over-trends philosophy

The Junk Law Problem

• Risk of exponential growth in unwanted recommendations and proactive selling
• "Moore's Law for junk"—AI could create unprecedented volumes of commercial noise
• Need for new filtering mechanisms (the "burner email" equivalent for AI commerce)

Contrarian Takes

Rei's Principle: If you're a brand, focus on what's truly valuable to customers—even if it means selling less stuff. Long-term brand value comes from meaningful customer relationships, not maximizing transactions.

Tara's Observation: Despite having 700-800 million users, ChatGPT still needs traditional media to reach mainstream audiences. The tech-savvy market is already saturated.

-----About the Hosts

Rei Inamoto: Creative entrepreneur and founding partner of I&CO, a global innovation firm with offices in New York, Tokyo, and Singapore.

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Tara Tan: Managing partner of Strange Ventures, an early-stage firm investing in the future of computing.

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