PayPal is teaming up with OpenAI to let ChatGPT users buy products directly through the popular AI chatbot, a move that sent PayPal’s shares soaring 10%. The company also raised its profit forecast and announced its first-ever dividend, signaling a new era of confidence and growth.
The new partnership will connect PayPal’s massive merchant network to ChatGPT’s 800 million weekly users, enabling people to discover and purchase products directly within a chat conversation. This is a huge step into the world of “AI shopping,” where digital assistants can do everything from researching and comparing products to actually purchasing for you.
“We want PayPal to be available anywhere and everywhere that consumers want to pay,” said CEO Alex Chriss. The deal is a major win for PayPal, which has been working hard to reinvent itself under Chris’s leadership. After a post-pandemic slump, the company has been focusing on profitability and finding new ways to grow. This new partnership with the hottest tech company is a clear sign that the strategy is working.
“We’ve moved this business from defense to offense and from stabilization to acceleration,” Chriss said. On top of the exciting new partnership, PayPal also had a strong quarter, with its payment volumes growing and its revenue and profits beating expectations. The company is so confident in its future that it’s raising its full-year profit forecast and, for the first time in its 27-year history, will start paying a dividend to its shareholders.
