By Gregory Zuckerman
Publication Date: 2025-11-26 11:19:00
Perplexity unveiled a free AI shopping experience that uses conversational mechanics to mix the inspiration of product discovery with one-click checkout via PayPal, indicating what could be an industry push to allow conversational search to become directly transactional.
According to the company, when complete, the assistant will display recommendations based on each user’s specific needs and present a PayPal-powered Instant Buy button that lets them purchase without leaving the results.
Unlike standard shopping pages that push paid placements, Perplexity focuses on unbiased needs-first recommendations based on the context of chat. Product cards consist of images, product pricing and delivery particulars, as well as the merchant’s source along with curated reviews and bite-sized buying advice. Looking ahead, the Instant Buy integration based on PayPal will scale to beyond 5,000 merchants as onboarding ramps.
How Perplexity’s PayPal Instant Buy Checkout Flow Works
The new flow is “an effort to consolidate research and checkout into one conversation.” Tell the assistant what you are looking for — a winter coat for foggy morning ferry commutes in San Francisco, say — and it will surface options that meet those requirements, combined with the use case, climate, and budget range. Then, if you ask about boots with great deck traction (for example), the reply is contextual, not a reset.
If a product fits, Instant Buy leverages PayPal to complete the…
