TL;DR

OpenAI has launched “shopping research” across all ChatGPT plans, offering AI-powered product recommendations with personalised buyer’s guides. The feature arrives just in time for holiday shopping, with instant checkout capabilities planned for participating merchants.

How It Works

Any shopping query in ChatGPT now triggers the new shopping research mode. Ask for “best TVs in bright lighting,” for example, and the response concludes with an option for additional research. Users refine choices through preference questions covering price, intended use and desired features—similar to retail website filters, but conversational.

The feature runs on a GPT-5 mini variant refined specifically for shopping tasks, pulling recommendations from “quality sources” with current pricing, availability, reviews, specifications and images. It can also reference previous ChatGPT conversations and user memory settings if enabled.

Personal Shopper Potential

Pro subscribers receive proactively recommended products packaged as buyer’s guides based on their chat history. OpenAI gives the example of discussing e-bikes leading to future accessory suggestions—turning ChatGPT into a persistent shopping assistant that learns preferences over time.

However, OpenAI acknowledges limitations: “shopping research might make mistakes about product details like price and availability,” advising users to verify details on merchant sites.

The Wider AI Commerce Race

OpenAI isn’t alone in pursuing AI-powered shopping. Google recently enhanced its AI Mode with shopping features, whilst Perplexity’s Comet browser agent shops autonomously on users’ behalf—a development Amazon has reportedly viewed with concern.

The trend reflects what The Verge’s Nilay Patel calls “the DoorDash problem”: AI intermediaries increasingly standing between consumers and retailers, potentially capturing value in the transaction chain.

Looking Forward

OpenAI plans to roll out Instant Checkout, enabling direct purchases within ChatGPT through participating merchants. This would transform ChatGPT from a recommendation engine into a full commerce platform—though questions remain about how product selection will be determined and whether paid placements might influence suggestions.

Source: The Verge