ChatGPT can now shop for you, too.
OpenAI announced Monday that users will soon be able to shop through ChatGPT, rivaling Google Shopping.
The AI-powered search shopping buttons are rolling out to everyone with the app installed, including guest users without an account.
Adam Fry, ChatGPT search product lead at OpenAI, told WIRED that people are already using the tool to look up a wide range of items to shop in many categories, such as beauty, home goods and electronics — so the ability to shop within the service will make the process easier for consumers.
However, shoppers won’t be able to check out in ChatGPT itself. Rather, they’ll be directed to the seller’s website to check out and complete the transaction.
The product recommendations provided by the artificial intelligence platform are based on data that it remembers about the user’s preferences, as well as product reviews from across the internet, resulting in products that it believes align with the user’s specific tastes and needs.
ChatGPT will pull from sources including editorial commerce reviews as well as forums like Reddit to get a range of evaluations.
“It’s not looking for specific signals that are in some algorithm,” Fry explained. “It’s trying to understand how people are reviewing this, how people are talking about this, what the pros and cons are.”
Fry said that the ChatGPT shopping experience is more personalized and conversational than it is keyword-focused — like Google Shopping.
While the new feature has many similarities to Google Shopping — such as retailers listed on the right side of the screen after clicking on an item with buttons that lead you to make the purchase — the main difference as of now is that ChatGPT produces organic results rather than paid placements.
“They are not ads,” Fry affirmed. “They are not sponsored.”
The feature is simple to use: All you have to do is ask ChatGPT a question like you normally would, prompting it to serve you recommendations for a specific product that first your needs. For example, asking, “What’s the best coffee machine for under $200 that fits in a small kitchen space?”
The chatbot will then generate a curated list and explain its top selections. As the shopping feature rolls out to users, they’ll be able to click on an item and purchasing options will appear in a tab that opens on the right-hand side of the screen. Clicking the “Buy” button will direct the user to the website to make the purchase.
