Buy with Pro is gone. Instant Buy is how Perplexity checkout works now
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Short answer
Instant Buy, launched with PayPal on 25 November 2025, is Perplexity's current in-chat checkout: available to all US users, with the retailer remaining merchant of record, orders fulfilled by the merchant, and payment through PayPal. It replaced Buy with Pro, the Pro-subscriber checkout where Perplexity acted as intermediary and funded free shipping. Advice describing that older model is out of date.
What changed, on the record
Buy with Pro was the November 2024 model: US Pro subscribers only, Perplexity placing the order and taking care of the rest, free shipping funded by Perplexity as a thank-you. That is the version most published guides still describe.
The current model launched 25 November 2025 with PayPal. The launch release describes store sync making merchant catalogs instantly discoverable and agent ready letting merchants accept payments through their existing PayPal configuration, and states plainly that it keeps the retailer in control as the merchant of record, with retailers paid directly. Perplexity's own help article, updated through summer 2026, adds that Instant Buy is available to all users in the United States, not just Pro, that all orders are fulfilled directly by the merchant, and that the old Shop like a Pro article now redirects to it.
What that means merchants gained and lost
Gained: the order is yours. Merchant of record, direct payment, your fulfilment, your customer relationship, which is the same reason ChatGPT's redirect model turned out to be good news. Gained also: a bigger buyer pool, since Instant Buy dropped the Pro-subscriber gate.
Lost: the free-shipping subsidy, which was a Buy with Pro perk and does not exist under Instant Buy. The current sweeteners are PayPal-administered reward promotions, run by PayPal in defined windows, not a standing Perplexity benefit. Any listing tool or guide promising free shipping through Perplexity is quoting the retired model.
Where Shopify stores actually stand
Precision matters here, because it is easy to over-claim. Perplexity's help pages name PayPal-connected merchants and platforms including BigCommerce, Shopware and Wix for Instant Buy. Shopify is not on that checkout list. Shopify's route into Perplexity is the discovery side: the platform integration that syncs catalog data, which Shopify's own April 2026 write-up describes, noting the merchant program can improve visibility by giving the system more complete product data.
So the honest summary for a Shopify store: your products are discoverable in Perplexity through the Shopify integration, a shopper who finds them completes the purchase on your store unless PayPal-side infrastructure covers you, and nothing about that requires action beyond the catalog quality work that decides whether you get shown at all.
Frequently asked questions
Do Perplexity shoppers get free shipping from my store?
No. Free shipping was a Buy with Pro perk funded by Perplexity and retired with it. Current promotions are PayPal reward points, administered by PayPal in limited windows. Your own shipping rates apply as normal.
Who handles returns and support on an Instant Buy order?
You do. Perplexity's help states all orders are fulfilled directly by the merchant, and the PayPal launch materials keep the retailer as merchant of record at the center of the customer relationship. It is your order with a different front door.
Can my Shopify store enable Instant Buy?
There is no Shopify toggle for it, and Perplexity's platform list for Instant Buy names BigCommerce, Shopware and Wix alongside PayPal-connected merchants. Shopify's documented role is catalog discovery. If that changes, the primary sources at the foot of this page will say so before any guide does.
Does any of this cost a commission?
Perplexity's merchant program is stated as free, and its help pages describe organic product recommendations that cannot be bought. Payment processing runs through PayPal on Instant Buy orders, with PayPal's normal economics rather than a Perplexity fee.
Sources
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