Synchrony & OpenAI launch discoverability & innovation tie-up

Synchrony has entered into an enterprise collaboration with OpenAI focused on discoverability and innovation.

The agreement covers consumer-facing tools and the internal deployment of OpenAI products across Synchrony's business. It includes a ChatGPT plugin that will let users browse promotional financing, deals and offers from participating Synchrony partners within ChatGPT, alongside broader use of OpenAI models and workplace products across the company.

Synchrony aims to bring financing, rewards and loyalty features into AI-based shopping and checkout journeys. Synchrony, which provides consumer finance products and works with a large network of merchant partners, is seeking to extend its role as retail transactions move into conversational and automated digital channels.

The ChatGPT plugin is a visible part of that push. Consumers will be able to discover savings and offers from the Synchrony Marketplace inside ChatGPT and browse options from participating partners through a conversational interface, according to the company.

The move places financing offers and loyalty incentives closer to the point of product discovery, rather than limiting them to a merchant's website, checkout page or app. For lenders and retail partners, it could test whether shoppers are willing to engage with credit and promotional offers inside generative AI services during the buying process.

Enterprise rollout

Beyond the customer-facing plugin, Synchrony will deploy OpenAI models, including GPT-5.6 Sol, Terra, and Luna, across its enterprise through ChatGPT Work, Codex, and AWS Bedrock. The tools will be used in product development and broader internal operations.

Synchrony also said nearly 100% of its professional workforce has been using AI tools such as ChatGPT since 2024. Employees are expected to gain access to ChatGPT Enterprise and ChatGPT Work as part of a broader programme of job-specific training and adoption across the organisation.

The lender said 90% of employees expressed confidence in its approach to using AI fairly, ethically and responsibly. The figure suggests management is trying to show that internal adoption has moved beyond experimentation and into day-to-day workflows, at a time when financial groups are under pressure to demonstrate both productivity gains and governance controls around AI use.

Commerce focus

Synchrony's business sits at the intersection of store-branded credit, instalment and promotional financing, loyalty programmes and merchant relationships. That makes it a notable test case for how financial products might be presented inside AI shopping tools as consumers increasingly use conversational services to search for products, compare prices and seek recommendations.

Many retailers and payments groups have been exploring how generative AI could reshape online shopping, but adding financing and rewards options adds another layer to the transaction. It also raises questions about how lenders, merchants and technology platforms will share customer attention and influence purchase decisions when AI assistants act as intermediaries.

Kaylin Voss, Vice President of Americas and industries at OpenAI, outlined the dual nature of the relationship between the two companies.

"AI is creating an opportunity to reimagine the entire commerce experience - from how customers discover products to how they pay, earn rewards and build loyalty. Synchrony is approaching that opportunity from both sides: bringing OpenAI into the experiences it creates for customers and partners, while deploying our most advanced models and tools across its own enterprise. That combination can help Synchrony create better, more seamless experiences for customers while giving its teams the tools to move faster and bring new ideas to life," Voss said.

Synchrony framed the collaboration as part of a broader AI strategy rather than a standalone product launch. It said it wants to preserve merchant and consumer choice as commerce becomes more agent-driven, indicating that it sees AI assistants as a growing route into payments and retail finance.

Maran Nalluswami, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer at Synchrony, said the company believes its existing role in consumer finance and merchant partnerships gives it a foothold in that shift.

"With decades of experience at the intersection of consumer financing, payments, loyalty and merchant partnerships, Synchrony is uniquely positioned to help shape how AI-powered commerce evolves - securely and at scale. This collaboration with OpenAI marks a major milestone for Synchrony, our millions of customers and hundreds of thousands of partner locations. Together, we aim to ensure the value they've entrusted in Synchrony products will thrive in the agentic commerce era," Nalluswami said.