OpenAI announced on Monday that it is rolling out an update to ChatGPT search feature, aiming to provide a more personalized online shopping experience. This update allows users to search for products and receive tailored recommendations, images, reviews, and direct links to purchase the items online.
Now, when users search for products through ChatGPT, the chatbot will offer a selection of recommendations, present product images, show user reviews, and provide links to buy the items. OpenAI emphasizes that users can ask highly specific questions in natural language and receive custom search results. Initially, the update is being tested in categories like fashion, beauty, home goods, and electronics.
OpenAI is introducing this new feature in GPT-4o, the default AI model for ChatGPT, on Monday. The update is available to ChatGPT Pro, Plus, and Free users, as well as logged-out users worldwide. This search update is part of OpenAI’s strategy to create a more personalized experience to compete with major players like Google in the online shopping space.
Competing with Google in the Online Shopping Market
Online shopping has become one of Google’s most important businesses, but OpenAI aims to provide a better user experience by removing ads from the shopping results. According to OpenAI, ads will not be part of the new shopping feature in ChatGPT search. Instead, search results will be based on structured metadata from third-party sources, including product pricing, descriptions, and reviews. OpenAI clarified that it won’t receive affiliate fees for purchases made through ChatGPT’s shopping search results.
As part of its goal to improve the quality of its search results, OpenAI highlighted that users made over a billion web searches through ChatGPT just last week, demonstrating the rapid growth of this new feature.
One of the standout features of this update is personalization. OpenAI plans to integrate its memory feature with the shopping experience for Pro and Plus users. This means ChatGPT will use previous interactions with users to make more personalized product recommendations. However, this memory feature will not be available in the EU, U.K., Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein due to data protection regulations.
Alongside this update, ChatGPT search will now include trending searches when users begin typing their queries, similar to the autocomplete feature found in Google Search. Additionally, ChatGPT search has expanded to WhatsApp, allowing users to interact with the AI through the messaging platform to get real-time answers and product recommendations.
While OpenAI has previously experimented with shopping features through its AI agent platform, Operator, this new ChatGPT search feature offers a faster, hands-on experience for users. Users can still search for products using natural language, but the results are delivered more quickly and efficiently, making it easier than ever to shop online.
