Shopping with ChatGPT

On April 28^th OpenAI revealed it had updated its flagship ChatGPT platform to improve the online shopping experience for users. This update reflects the growing trend of integrating AI into everyday consumer experiences, as seen with Google’s AI overviews and Amazon’s Alexa shopping assistant.

The new functionality improves its capabilities with personalised product recommendations depending on the search criteria, images, reviews, and direct links to sites. By being able to leverage real-time data extraction and natural language process, ChatGPT can interpret nuanced requests and return results with relevance and clarity.

ChatGPT has had a search function for around a year and now handles nearly a billion web searches per week, according to the company.

The rationale behind this new development is to improve the often-frustrating experience of online shopping. Traditional e-commerce platforms like Shopify and search engines are usually filled with sponsored results, making it difficult to recognise true product value.

The goal of this new development is to offer an unbiased, tailored product suggestions in a more human-like conversation. This format can help ease the pressure of decision-making by mimicking the information you would get from a knowledgeable in-store assistant. By being more personable, the tool aims to provide a more user-centric alternative to existing juggernauts like Google Shopping or Amazon.

For those who use ChatGPT but haven’t used the search function, the way it works is straightforward and should be familiar. You could ask it, for instance, “What are the best noise-cancelling headphones under £100?” As a reply, ChatGPT will generate a list of products and summaries that include pricing, key specifications, reviews, and even images.

Unlike the usual searches, these recommendations are pulled from structured product data across the web, rather than from paid promotions or advertising, maintaining objectivity. This feature sets it apart from the algorithm-driven marketplaces that prioritise profit over relevance.

Although, the way that ChatGPT uses web searches for products might, unintentionally, favour the more established brands due to the availability of data, mistakenly pushing smaller or niche products to the side.

As with all new technology, this new feature isn’t totally flawless. One Reddit user on r/ChatGPT asked a question about shopping and the impact of the tariffs on inventories, only to receive a list of toiletries to buy. When the user asked why, ChatGPT could only explain the new shopping search function and how it functions.

Anther common criticism from users is the limited visual representation of products. While ChatGPT may provide some product images, it still lacks the full shopping experience user enjoy on traditional retail websites.

With the introduction of the shopping capabilities in ChatGPT, it is a forward-thinking move that has the potential to reshape the way people research purchase products online. By removing of ads and presenting customised, data-driven recommendations in a personal, conversational format, OpenAI is creating a user-friendly and efficient online shopping experience.

While it may still be evolving, this new feature could prove especially valuable to users that need clarity and convenience in the busy and cluttered digital marketplace.

Through its “Search the web” feature, ChatGPT uses UTM parameters in the URLs of the cited sources for the responses it gives, allowing online shop owners to track traffic coming directly from ChatGPT. With the increase in users using ChatGPT to help get them directly to storefront they want, and with the use of traditional search engines for shopping’s inevitable decline, tracking this source will become vital.

 

While this evolution in online shopping shows how AI like ChatGPT is reshaping consumer behaviour, it doesn’t mean traditional marketing is obsolete. Our job as marketers is to adapt and optimise for these shifts. Strategic SEO can help ensure your brand and products are visible and recognised by tools like ChatGPT, while well-crafted paid ads still play a crucial role in driving impact and visibility across channels. Having an agency like ours on your side means staying ahead of these changes and making sure your business remains discoverable, competitive, and relevant - whatever your customers are using for the shopping search.