OpenAI has expanded the reach of ChatGPT from information retrieval into product discovery.
With a new built-in shopping experience, users can now get personalised product recommendations, complete with direct links to buy—turning ChatGPT into something far more than just a chatbot.
It’s not trying to replace Amazon or Google (yet), but it’s reimagining how we search, decide, and shop online. And in doing so, it’s challenging one of the internet’s most entrenched habits: using Google to figure out what to buy.
What makes this development especially interesting is how ChatGPT is doing it: no ads, no sponsored listings—just organic results. That’s a sharp contrast to platforms like Google Shopping, which are heavily monetised.
While Google Shopping features paid ads, ChatGPT’s product suggestions are currently organic—a crucial distinction for user trust and editorial integrity.
This echoes Google’s launch of Froogle back in 2002.
Start with pure, ad-free product discovery. Build user trust. Shift behaviors. Then—monetise.
History is repeating itself.
Right now, ChatGPT is teaching millions of users to shop by asking questions rather than typing keywords. Over time, this could create an entirely new kind of digital shelf space—one where brands compete for visibility not through SEO or bidding, but through relevance in conversational AI.
For retailers and e-commerce brands, this is a huge opportunity. OpenAI is already exploring ways to integrate product feeds directly into ChatGPT, and interested businesses can sign up to be among the first.
Most people use ChatGPT over Google for a growing number of shopping-related queries. The intent behind these interactions is high, the experience is fast, and the recommendations feel more curated.
For brands that move early, this could become a powerful, high-conversion channel. The ones who adapt first will have the edge.
Here’s an in-depth look at how Shopping works on ChatGPT, what sets it apart, and what it signals for the future of AI-powered commerce.
How ChatGPT Shopping Works
OpenAI’s product search isn’t keyword-matching in disguise. It’s a context-aware, memory-driven system that:
- Remembers your preferences (e.g., “only black clothes from Uniqlo”).
- Adapts recommendations based on past interactions.
- Uses conversational input instead of traditional search terms.
“It’s trying to understand how people are reviewing this, how people are talking about this, what the pros and cons are.” — Adam Fry, OpenAI
A product appears in the visual carousel when ChatGPT perceives it’s relevant to the user’s intent. ChatGPT assesses intent based on the user’s query and other available context, such as memories or custom instructions.
When determining which products to surface, ChatGPT considers:
- Structured metadata from third-party providers (e.g., price, product description) and other third-party content (e.g., reviews).
- Model responses generated by ChatGPT before it considers any new search results.
- OpenAI safety standards.
Depending on the user’s needs, some of these factors will be more relevant than others. Not all available products will necessarily be shown (there are a lot of dog costumes out there).
ChatGPT vs. Google Shopping: The Key Differences
1. No Paid Listings (Yet)
Google Shopping often prioritises listings based on advertising spend. In contrast, OpenAI’s current model avoids sponsored placements, offering users what it claims are truly unbiased recommendations.
2. Natural Language > Search Queries
Instead of typing “best ergonomic office chair under $300,” you could say, “I need a comfortable chair for long hours that matches my black-and-wood desk.” The AI interprets the intent behind the words.
3. Memory Drives Continuity
ChatGPT builds a profile over time—learning your style, preferences, and needs. Google, unless you're deeply embedded in their ecosystem, treats most searches in isolation.
The Affiliate Question: Who Profits from AI-Driven Shopping?
With AI intermediating between users and traditional search, affiliate revenue becomes a key question. If ChatGPT recommends a product based on a Google review, but links users directly to a merchant, who gets the affiliate cut?
Fry was noncommittal: “We’re experimenting,” he said.
What This Could Mean:
- OpenAI could become an affiliate aggregator, keeping a slice while attributing traffic to content sources.
- New revenue-sharing models between AI platforms and media outlets may emerge.
This is especially pressing given OpenAI’s revenue goals: it’s targeting $125 billion by 2029, up from under $4 billion in 2024. Affiliate and commerce integrations could play a pivotal role.
Beyond Shopping: ChatGPT As A Personal Product Advisor
More than a tool for browsing, ChatGPT becomes a product researcher, stylist, and buyer’s guide all in one. For example, if users ask for help picking espresso machines or office chairs, they will receive tailored recommendations sourced from user sentiment.
Key Use Cases Emerging:
- Gift guides based on recipient personality.
- Home goods tailored to existing décor.
- Niche electronics vetted by tech forums and expert reviews.
This model shifts shopping from a search-and-filter workflow to a conversation-and-refinement journey. From research assistant to shopping companion, ChatGPT could soon be all you need while shopping.
The Bigger Picture: What’s Next?
OpenAI’s shopping rollout is just one part of a broader trend:
- Its Operator agent can autonomously browse the web and assist in purchases, albeit in early stages.
- Rivals like Perplexity and Google are also blending AI with commerce.
- Google’s “Researched with AI” feature similarly summarises reviews, though still embedded in a traditional search model.
We’re watching the decentralisation of e-commerce away from platforms like Amazon and toward AI agents that navigate across sites, content, and user preferences.
Where Is This Headed?
OpenAI’s integration of shopping into ChatGPT reframes how we think about product discovery, review aggregation, and the role of AI in commerce.
If successful, it could:
- Redefine how users make buying decisions.
- Reshape affiliate business models.
- Nudge publishers to rethink content monetisation.
More importantly, it positions AI not just as a tool, but as the interface for the next era of online behaviour—one where search, recommendation, and decision-making converge in a single chat window.
In its blog, ChatGPT says it now includes product recommendations as part of its search experience. When a user query implies shopping intent, such as “gifts for someone who loves cooking” or “best noise-cancelling headphones under $200”, ChatGPT may surface relevant products.
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Publishers who allow OAI-SearchBot to access their content can track referral traffic from ChatGPT using analytics platforms such as Google Analytics. OAI-SearchBot is for search. OAI-SearchBot is used to link to and surface websites in search results in ChatGPT's search features. It is not used to crawl content to train OpenAI’s generative AI foundation models.
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