Can ChatGPT build me an online store?
By Stefan Pretty, founder and CEO of SubblyUpdated · 3 min read
The short answer
Partly. ChatGPT can design and write a store, and its Sites feature hosts simple sites, but OpenAI doesn't process payments: a Site mustn't handle card data, so selling goes through a payment provider you set up and run. The fuller routes connect ChatGPT to a store platform. Shopify's plugin builds storefront previews you can claim as a Shopify store, and Wix's app creates a Wix site that can sell on a paid plan. Payments, tax and shipping still live on that platform.
What is ChatGPT Sites?
OpenAI's way to create, host and share websites and small apps from ChatGPT, in public beta since July 2026 on the Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans (not Free or Go). Sites live on an openai.chatgpt.site address, and you can connect your own domain where that's available. OpenAI's examples are dashboards, trackers, prototypes and internal portals.
For a store, the limit is money. OpenAI's developer docs say not to use Sites to process payment card data or enable financial transactions. Its terms allow selling only through a third-party payment provider, which you connect, configure and maintain, and they make you responsible for delivery, refunds and customer support. So Sites can host a page about your products, but checkout, tax and orders have to come from somewhere else.
Can ChatGPT build a Shopify store?
It can start one. With Shopify's plugin in ChatGPT you describe your business, review storefront previews and claim one to create your Shopify store. After that, the plugin can manage products, stock, collections, percentage-off discount codes, pages and menus, and read your orders and analytics.
It can't edit or publish your live theme, change your plan, payments, taxes or domain, or refund or cancel orders. Shopify is plain about it: a preview is "a starting point rather than a finished store", and "your Shopify admin is still required for payments, taxes, domains, and launch readiness." The plugin is free; Shopify's normal plan prices apply.
What about Wix?
Wix launched an app in ChatGPT in March 2026. You tag @Wix in a chat to generate a site, and Wix says generated sites can include product listings, payments, stock, shipping and tax. To take payments you need a paid Wix plan that includes selling; the free plan can't sell.
Can ChatGPT write the code for a custom store?
Yes. Codex, OpenAI's coding agent, is included on every ChatGPT plan and can write a storefront from scratch. A custom store still needs hosting, a payment provider, sales tax, order handling and, if you sell subscriptions, recurring billing and a way for customers to manage their plans. Someone also has to keep it secure and working as the code and the services it uses change.
What do people get wrong?
- "ChatGPT will take payments for me." It won't. OpenAI says it is not the merchant of record, and merchants bring their own payment provider.
- "The Shopify plugin builds a finished store." It builds a preview. Payments, taxes, your domain and launch happen in Shopify.
- "Free ChatGPT can host my store." Sites isn't on the Free or Go plans, and it's still in beta.
- "If ChatGPT built my store, ChatGPT will recommend it." Building a store and being shown in ChatGPT's shopping results are separate. See Can I sell my products inside ChatGPT?
On Subbly
Building a store on Subbly
On Subbly the agent that builds your store is part of the store platform, so checkout, payments, subscriptions and the customer portal are there from the first draft. You describe your business, your agent builds the store in minutes, and each change after that is one message. You don't need a ChatGPT subscription to use it.
