OpenAI Brings Shopping to ChatGPT

OpenAI is introducing a new shopping feature directly to ChatGPT, where users will receive personalized recommendations with buttons to buy products, challenging Google Shopping but without paid placement.

• OpenAI said that ChatGPT users will be able to search for products, get reviews, recommendations, and click buttons to go to the seller’s website — all within a single conversation with the AI. The system doesn’t currently involve making a full-fledged purchase within the chat, but the UX already mimics shopping platforms.
• The recommendations are generated not through advertising or paid items, but based on reviews collected from the Internet, and also take into account the user’s preferences that they have expressed in the past. For example, if someone is looking for an office chair, ChatGPT will offer several top options with links to sources like WIRED. This approach is not focused on keywords, as in Google, but on “conversational understanding” of needs.

Unlike Google, where products can get to the top thanks to advertising, OpenAI assures that for now everything is organic. Although the company has not yet decided on a monetization model, it is considering options for partner programs such as affiliate revenue. In addition, this is not OpenAI’s first step into commerce – the company previously released an agent called Operator, which is able to independently purchase products in the browser.

ChatGPT with the shopping function not only changes the approach to searching for products, but also makes the entire process more human and personalized. Instead of algorithmic pursuit of SEO and advertising, the emphasis is on the real needs of the user. And although this is an experiment without direct monetization for now, the potential for transforming online shopping is enormous.