Key Takeaways
- OpenAI is testing new shopping features within ChatGPT.
- The AI can now show product images, comparisons, prices, reviews, and direct purchase links.
- This positions ChatGPT more directly against Google Search for product discovery.
- Early tests show the feature can be slower than Google and sometimes links to less familiar retailers.
- These shopping tools are rolling out to all ChatGPT users, including free tiers.
- OpenAI states product inclusions are not sponsored and it earns no commission from sales links.
- Product selection aims to reflect popular conversational mentions rather than a rigid algorithm.
OpenAI is exploring new ways for ChatGPT to help users find and buy products.
The company announced Monday it’s experimenting with features designed to make discovering, comparing, and purchasing items directly through the AI chat tool simpler and faster.
According to OpenAI’s post on X, the chatbot can now display product photos, compare items side-by-side, show pricing and reviews, and provide direct links to various online stores.
This move clearly ramps up competition with traditional search engines like Google, which people often use for product research.
Testing by Mashable confirmed the new capabilities using the ChatGPT 4o model. However, while Google results appear almost instantly, ChatGPT’s shopping suggestions took noticeable time, sometimes up to 40 seconds, to generate.
The experimental feature also occasionally linked to smaller, less-known retailers in Mashable’s trials. It’s worth noting that Mashable’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April regarding copyright infringement.
These new shopping enhancements are available now for Plus, Pro, and free ChatGPT users, even if they aren’t logged into an account.
How does ChatGPT decide which products to feature? OpenAI emphasizes that these are not paid placements. An OpenAI spokesperson confirmed to Mashable that the company doesn’t receive commissions from the merchant links.
Adam Fry, who leads ChatGPT search product development at OpenAI, told Wired the selection isn’t based on a specific algorithm searching for technical signals. Instead, it focuses on how people naturally discuss products, aiming for a more conversational recommendation style.
Currently, OpenAI is testing these features primarily with fashion, beauty, home goods, and electronics categories.
If introducing web search into ChatGPT was a challenge to Google, adding these shopping tools represents a significant escalation in their rivalry.
This comes as surveys suggest more people are turning to chatbots for information traditionally sought via search engines. At the same time, some Google users express frustration with declining search result quality and the rise of AI-generated content.
OpenAI’s spokesperson also noted significant growth for ChatGPT search, claiming it handled one billion web searches just last week, making it one of the platform’s fastest-expanding features.
