ChatGPT Redefines Online Shopping With Its New Product Recommendation Feature

Last week, OpenAI announced the launch of its new shopping web tool for ChatGPT. According to their press release, this feature will improve the online shopping experience for Plus, Pro, Free, and logged-out users everywhere where ChatGPT is available.

It seemed that the appearance of such a tool in ChatGPT was only a matter of time. In fact, users quite often ask ChatGPT questions about shopping. With a new update, when a user searches for a specific product, ChatGPT can display relevant products in rich carousels, provide additional product details, reviews, and link to websites where one can make a purchase. Users can also specify what factors are more important, for example, price limit or choosing a certain color of the product.

So far, this feature is experimental and will be available for categories such as fashion, beauty, home goods, and electronics. 

OpenAI throws down the gauntlet to Google

Such an update is part of OpenAI’s effort to compete with its main competitor, Google, and its Gemini. 

Online shopping is one of Google’s most influential niches. However,  placements in Google Search have also contributed to the product’s declining quality over the years. Google doesn’t sell organic search rankings directly, but it does monetize search through ads that appear above or alongside results. While organic results are determined by algorithms, advertisers can pay for placement in sponsored sections via Google Ads. 

And that's what makes OpenAI different in the online shopping game: It claims its shopping results are independent and highlights that ads are not part of this upgrade to ChatGPT.

Will Google also develop a similar feature any time soon for its shopping services to stay afloat?

Can I buy a place in the ChatGPT results? 

Now we are approaching the criteria that will be evaluated before being displayed to users. According to OpenAI, the shopping results will be based on pricing, product descriptions, and buyers’ reviews. But what’s more important it will also depend on third-party metadata. That means the seller will not provide the information, but online stores (e.g., Amazon, Walmart, Target), E-commerce platforms (e.g., Etsy, Shopify merchants), and product aggregators or review sites (e.g., BestBuy, CNET, or niche tech blogs).

So, theoretically, you can’t buy a place in ChatGPT.

“Products are selected by ChatGPT independently and are not ads”. - ChatGPT’s press release.

But this is in theory, how will it be in practice?

Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, has always been against any kind of advertising in ChatGPT. However, in his recent interview with Stratechery’s Ben Thompson, he said he is open to more non-traditional ways of product promotions:

“The kind of thing I’d be much more excited to try than traditional ads is a lot of people use Deep Research for e-commerce, for example, and is there a way that we could come up with some sort of new model, which is we’re never going to take money to change placement or whatever, but if you buy something through Deep Research that you found, we’re going to charge like a 2% affiliate fee or something. That would be cool, I’d have no problem with that. And maybe there’s a tasteful way we can do ads, but I don’t know”.

So far, there is no claim that the new OpenAI feature will charge the companies. However, will this policy be changed later? OpenAI stands to gain financially if it chooses to monetize this shopping feature, but the key question is whether it will maintain a neutral, unbiased approach or eventually introduce paid placements.

Another concern is appearing: What will businesses do to appear in ChatGPT shopping placement? Many people trust ChatGPT, so its shopping recommendations will probably become a very lucrative place to appear. It’s certainly possible that some businesses might try to “game the system” to appear in ChatGPT’s shopping results, just like they do with search engines. Some companies could attempt to manipulate that metadata by inflating reviews, tweaking keywords, or optimizing content to rank higher.

But as with any web-based tool, some level of manipulation is always a risk, especially if the system gains wide consumer influence. 

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Memory

Let’s explore another aspect of ChatGPT’s shopping feature — user memory, which is implemented to enhance shopping search results by personalizing recommendations.

“For example, if a user asks ChatGPT for help finding goofy costumes for their two large dogs, ChatGPT will consider general factors, such as price, customer ratings, and ease of use, as well as specific criteria provided by the user, like sizing and the desired costume vibe. If the user had previously indicated a dislike for clowns, the model might also consider that and leave out clown costumes”.  - ChatGPT’s press release.

In general, memory collection is controversial, now it is integrated for the improved shopping experience. Many noticed a similarity between this approach and 3rd party collection that was used in advertising long time, since they both involve storing user-related data for personalization. That is how such a memory feature won’t be available in the EU, the U.K., Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

However, ChatGPT assures its memory gathering is opt-in, visible, and user-controlled, unlike cookies, which are often passive and hidden.

The new feature is supposed to go into effect this Monday. While the introduction of integrated shopping results raises many ethical and practical questions, one is clear: such an update is a turning point in shopping, AI, and digital marketing. Let’s observe the situation and keep our eyes on this.