Shopee Integrates With ChatGPT as Sea Deepens Strategic OpenAI Partnership
Shopee has become the first regional e-commerce platform integrated into ChatGPT, allowing users in eight markets to discover products through natural language conversations. The deeper partnership between Sea and OpenAI also introduces ChatGPT for Business to Shopee's seller ecosystem, marking a significant step toward AI-native commerce.
Sea Limited has expanded its strategic partnership with OpenAI, integrating the Shopee app directly into ChatGPT across eight markets including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, and Brazil.
The integration makes Shopee the first regional e-commerce platform operating across Southeast Asia and Latin America to be available within ChatGPT, allowing users to discover products through conversational prompts rather than traditional keyword searches.
Shoppers can now ask ChatGPT for gift recommendations, fashion inspiration, or travel essentials and receive product suggestions from Shopee before seamlessly continuing their purchase journey on the platform.
Sea's AI push extends beyond the consumer experience. Under the expanded partnership, ChatGPT for Business will be introduced to Shopee's seller ecosystem, helping merchants automate product listings, generate marketing content, improve customer service workflows, and streamline daily operations.
Eligible sellers will receive access to ChatGPT for Business trials alongside onboarding resources and training programs designed to accelerate AI adoption among small and medium-sized businesses.
"By combining OpenAI's capabilities with Sea's ecosystem, we can deliver AI-native experiences for consumers and growth tools for businesses." – Forrest Li, Chairman and CEO of Sea
Sea's aggressive AI strategy comes as competition intensifies across its core markets. In Vietnam, for example, TikTok Shop's market share grew to over 41% in 2025, while Shopee's share slipped from 61% to just over 56%.
Meanwhile, Lazada is deploying Alibaba's Qwen large language model with AI shopping assistants and autonomous agents handling refunds, logistics, and marketing.
By integrating with ChatGPT, Sea is betting on conversational commerce as a differentiator, leveraging OpenAI's technology across both buyer and seller sides of its marketplace.
The company has demonstrated early results from its AI investments. Sea reported that AI chatbots now handle approximately 80% of customer inquiries, reducing customer service costs by about 30% year-over-year.
Beyond commerce, the partnership also focuses on expanding Codex, OpenAI's coding agent, across Asia, with a regional hackathon series attracting over 1,200 applications and planned events in Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Malaysia.
The conversational commerce ecosystem is rapidly evolving. As Maybank analysts noted, AI agents may change the interface, but they do not remove the need for trusted marketplaces with catalog depth, fulfillment, payments, reviews, and dispute resolution.
For Shopee, this suggests AI could reinforce its marketplace moat by positioning it as the preferred infrastructure layer for both human and AI agent shopping experiences.
As generative AI reshapes how consumers discover products, Sea's partnership with OpenAI represents a strategic bet that conversational interfaces will define the next generation of e-commerce in Southeast Asia and beyond.
