Hi, welcome to Tech This Evening, an After-Work Tech Newsletter from Techparley Africa. Sure, there is a lot to unpack right now. Sit back, while I walk you through.
Top Story: OpenAI Turns ChatGPT Into a Shopping Assistant With New Feature That Helps Users Buy From Etsy and Shopify
OpenAI has unveiled “Instant Checkout” in ChatGPT, a new feature that allows users to search, compare, and buy products directly within the app. The move positions ChatGPT as an e-commerce assistant capable of guiding purchases from search to payment.
The feature launches first in the United States, starting with Etsy sellers and soon expanding to Shopify merchants. Open AI says it is powered by the Agentic Commerce Protocol, a framework developed in partnership with Stripe and released as open source to encourage broader adoption.
“ChatGPT already helps millions of people find what to buy. Now it can help them buy it too,” OpenAI said in an announcement on X, confirming its partnership with Etsy, Shopify, and Stripe.
The new service is available to U.S.-based users across all ChatGPT tiers; Free, Plus, and Pro, provided they are purchasing from U.S. Etsy sellers. Shopify integrations will follow in the coming months.
Other Tech News Stories You Should Read:
Top 10 Phones with Good Battery Life: 2025 Buyer’s Guide for Nigeria. Read now.
Artificial Intelligence: How Elon Musk’s xAI, Grok Lands Rock-Bottom U.S. Government AI Deal. Read now.
Top Laptop Shops in Lagos: Where to Buy Quality Devices. Read now.
On Startup Spotlight:
How Cortex Hub Is Using Hackathons to Mobilize 40 African Cities to Build the Continent’s First AI Agents
Cortex Hub, the South African innovation accelerator turning 15 next year, is embarking on a new initiative: a continent-wide hackathon to build Africa’s first generation of autonomous AI agents.
The program will span 40 cities and offer winners a $10,000 non-equity grant. But for founder and patron Andile Ngcaba, the real prize is sovereignty, ensuring AI reflects Africa’s values, languages, and traditions rather than foreign defaults.
“Agents are everything in AI,” Ngcaba told TechCabal. “They will be how most people interact with AI, whether at work, at home, or when dealing with the government.”
The team says the new hackathon marks a major leap in scale, moving beyond mentorship and startups toward shaping Africa’s role in the global AI economy.
Quadri Adejumo brings you all the details. Read here.
Also Read:
Across Africa and Middle East, How South Africa’s AIRE is Betting on AI to Transform Real Estate. Yakub Abdulrasheed brings us the details, here.
Quote of the Day:
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is equivalent to magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke.
Thank you for joining me yet again this evening. Stay safe, and see you tomorrow for the next tech newsletter.
Best, Quadri
