“Replace the humans—they don’t want to do the jobs they’re in anyway.” That was the message plastered across a billboard in San Francisco this week. It was provocative. It was predictive. And in the wake of OpenAI’s announcement of Instant Checkout and Buy with ChatGPT, it now feels prophetic.
The affiliate marketing world just shifted beneath our feet. If you haven’t read the announcement, here’s the TL;DR:
ChatGPT can now complete purchases inside the chat. It can recommend products and facilitate checkout from select merchants (starting with Shopify brands and U.S.-based Etsy sellers), without users ever leaving the conversation.
Let that sink in.
Where we once had:
Search engine → affiliate blog or content site → click-through → brand site → purchase…
We now have:
Prompt → ChatGPT answer → Instant checkout → Done.
No click-through. No cookie. No referral ID. No affiliate.
So, are affiliates dead?
Absolutely not.
But affiliate marketing as we know it? That model has entered a new era. And it’s not one that favors the passive, the copy-pasters, or the click-chasers. It’s one that will reward strategic thinkers, storytellers, and community builders.
Here’s what you can do to stay ahead, stay valuable, and even thrive in this new paradigm.
1. Evolve Beyond Links: Own the Relationship, Not the Click
If your current business model relies on getting someone to click your affiliate link and buy within 24 hours, your margins will collapse.
You need to shift from being a traffic director to a trust builder.
What to do:
- Build a loyal audience via email, community, or social — don’t rely on search alone.
- Create deep, educational content that fosters connection and context (e.g., “Here’s what actually happened when I tried 5 CBD brands”)
- Get users to subscribe to you, not the platforms.
Examples:
- Turn your affiliate blog into a Substack and collect emails.
- Use UGC-style videos on TikTok and YouTube Shorts to drive direct attention to your voice.
2. Think Like a Creator, Not a Publisher
In the past, being an affiliate marketer meant writing review posts, listicles, and SEO-optimized pages. Going forward, that content may not even get surfaced.
AI is answering those queries itself.
Instead, focus on becoming a recognizable personality with a point of view. That’s what AI can’t replicate (yet).
What to do:
- Develop your voice across video, newsletters, and social.
- Collaborate with brands directly as a creator with a built-in audience.
- Inject storytelling into everything you do.
Examples:
- Instead of “Top 5 Walking Shoes for Summer,” create a video series on how you trained for a charity walk and the shoes that got you through.
- Offer exclusive product bundles or co-branded drops with your favorite brands.
3. Own First-Party Data and Contextual Intent
ChatGPT is winning because it understands intent better than Google. It listens to the nuance in your prompt: “Best white jeans for a concert in the summer heat” and delivers contextual answers.
Affiliates must do the same.
What to do:
- Collect first-party data via quizzes, surveys, and email opt-ins.
- Use that data to tailor your recommendations and marketing flows.
- Build content that mirrors real user intent, not just keywords.
Examples:
- Build a product recommendation quiz (e.g., “Find your perfect skincare routine in 2 minutes”) and tag your affiliate links accordingly.
- Offer micro-personalized lead magnets (“Best running shoes for new dads who run at night”) based on segmentation.
4. Partner with AI Instead of Competing Against It
ChatGPT isn’t your enemy. It’s your assistant — if you use it that way.
What to do:
- Use AI to help you create better product comparisons, summaries, and pros/cons breakdowns.
- Use AI to summarize user reviews into helpful “What people are saying” snippets.
- Train custom GPTs with your unique voice and affiliate content for loyal users.
Examples:
- Build your own GPT that curates product picks based on your expertise (“Camping gear according to Matt Frary’s standards”).
- Integrate AI-powered chat on your site to help users find products through your lens.
5. Negotiate Direct Brand Deals While They Still Need You
Brands are going to realize they can list directly with ChatGPT and skip the affiliate middleman. But they still need help telling their story, building credibility, and reaching new audiences.
What to do:
- Negotiate deals that go beyond commission links — think: sponsored content, product drops, ambassador programs, affiliate white-label bundles.
- Pitch yourself as a trusted guide, not just a lead-gen channel.
Examples:
- “Let me write your launch email, create a walkthrough video, and convert my community. You pay me a flat fee + bonus if I beat my baseline.”
- “Give me an exclusive discount code and I’ll build a pre-sale landing page and case study.”
6. Watch for How Attribution Gets Rebuilt
The tracking infrastructure of affiliate marketing has been built on cookies, click IDs, and last-touch attribution. That doesn’t fly in ChatGPT’s world.
OpenAI says it will keep ranking neutral and won’t give Instant Checkout listings preferential treatment. But there’s no mention of affiliate link support or partner attribution.
What to do:
- Start building relationships with platforms and tech that are working on affiliate attribution for the AI age.
- Join the conversation. Push for open standards like Agentic Commerce Protocol to include affiliate fairness and transparency.
Examples:
- Work with networks like Impact.com or Awin to discuss how GPT commerce fits into their ecosystem.
- Advocate for metadata standards that help AI understand referral origin and credit it.
Final Thought: The Age of Lazy Affiliate Marketing is Over
If you were running on autopilot — spinning up review pages, scraping content, or chasing trends — you’re about to get replaced.
But if you:
- Build trust
- Deliver context
- Educate users
- Curate uniquely
- Own your audience
- Adapt quickly
Then you’re not going extinct. You’re becoming essential.
The affiliate landscape is being rewritten. The question is: will you evolve into the next generation of partner, or get skipped by the prompt?
The choice is yours.
Want help building your next-gen affiliate strategy? Chief of Chaos is helping brands and publishers retool for the AI economy. Let’s chat. https://chiefofchaos.com
– Matt Frary
Chief of Chaos
