Key Takeaways
- ChatGPT is introducing shopping search features for fashion, beauty, home, and electronics.
- These results aren’t ads right now, using data from third parties instead.
- Businesses can apply to have their products included.
- The shopping experience aims to be conversational and personalized, using online reviews.
- ChatGPT also gets improved citations, WhatsApp integration, and trending/autocomplete features.
OpenAI is adding shopping features directly into ChatGPT Search, making it easier to find products like clothing, electronics, and home goods.
Instead of traditional ads, these shopping results use structured data from various sources. For now, OpenAI says recommendations are organic, not paid placements.
Businesses interested in having their products appear can sign up through OpenAI.
The goal is a more personalized shopping experience. Adam Fry, ChatGPT’s search product lead, explained to Search Engine Roundtable (citing Wired) that it’s less about keywords and more about understanding user preferences and how people review products.
ChatGPT will gather insights from online reviews, pulling from editorial sites and user forums like Reddit to understand the pros and cons of items.
It’s designed to remember your preferences. If you mention liking specific brands or styles, ChatGPT aims to tailor future recommendations accordingly.
You can even tell ChatGPT which types of reviews you trust most, influencing the products it suggests.
While OpenAI isn’t using an affiliate model currently, they haven’t ruled it out for the future.
Alongside shopping, ChatGPT is getting smarter citations. Responses can now point to multiple sources, and a new highlight feature clearly shows which part of an answer corresponds to a specific citation, making verification easier.
Other updates include integration with WhatsApp and the addition of trending topics and autocomplete suggestions to enhance the user experience.
