ChatGPT is letting users shop directly from their search results, OpenAI announced today.
The news comes as search is becoming increasingly popular through ChatGPT, with over one billion searches last week alone.
Now, as OpenAI explained in a LinkedIn post, it wants to make “shopping simpler” and it “faster to find, compare, and buy products in ChatGPT.”
To do so, it has first improved its product search results, with visuals of product details, pricing, and reviews.
It has also included direct links to buy, as evident in the video demo below.
The new shopping experience rollout has already begun, and – within days – Plus, Pro, Free, and logged-out users may try out the new shopping experience.
OpenAI stipulates that its product search results are chosen independently and are not ads, for now at least.
This announcement has fanned the flames of rumors surrounding an integration between OpenAI and Shopify.
Last week, a code leak suggested that OpenAI tested native shopping capabilities with Shopify.
Adding Shopify to the updates currently being rolled out would bolster this capability. Here’s how.
How These Moves Could Come Together
OpenAI’s mission objective is clear: To become THE trusted recommendation search engine, with the USP of a natural, conversational user experience.
If the rumors with Shopify materialize, search and checkout will merge into a single flow, offering customers a faster and more efficient way to purchase products.
Despite an optimized shopping experience, this could be a warning sign for brands to take an AI-first approach, shifting away from traditional SEO.
Google, TikTok Shop, and other branded websites could face significant disruption, mainly through site visits, as users begin to shop directly from within AI environments.
OpenAI Actively Working to Take ChatGPT to The Next Level
To further boost the shopping experience, OpenAI recently enhanced ChatGPT’s memory.
Now, it can recall past conversations, something relevant for repeat shoppers, and enhance experiences.
Ultimately, this could transform ChatGPT into a personalized AI agent that understands preferences, tracks shopping journeys, and tailors recommendations.
The aforementioned statistic of one billion searches in under a week is another clear sign that its strategy is working on the user front.
What Has Taken OpenAI So Long?
Perhaps the biggest surprise of this announcement is how long it took to make the move.
Take Perplexity and Amazon; they have led these developments for some time now.
The newly launched Amazon “Buy for Me” feature empowers users to buy products from third-party websites directly within its app, with AI completing the purchase on their behalf.
Introducing this feature on CX Today, Sirte Pihlaja, CEO of Shirute, wrote: “Amazon is not just expanding its retail reach, it’s redefining how we shop altogether. AI is no longer just recommending; it’s transacting.”
Elsewhere, in 2024, Perplexity introduced its AI-driven Pro Shopping Assistant, allowing users to explore, compare, and purchase via curated links to third-party retailers.
This innovation showcased a vision of frictionless AI-powered shopping across the web, emphasizing transparency, convenience, and smart price comparisons—an approach now mirrored by Amazon.
Then, there’s Google. Expect a retort from the dominant search player in quick time.
