OpenAI has announced a big update to ChatGPT’s search tool, aiming to make online shopping smoother and more helpful for users.
Now, when people search for products in ChatGPT, they’ll see a few recommendations, along with product images, reviews, and direct links to websites where they can buy the items. OpenAI says users can ask very specific questions in natural language and get personalized results. At first, the feature will focus on categories like fashion, beauty, home goods, and electronics.
This new shopping experience is available starting today for users of GPT-4o—the default ChatGPT model—including Pro, Plus, Free, and even logged-out users worldwide.
OpenAI says its search feature is quickly growing, revealing that ChatGPT users made over a billion web searches just last week.
OpenAI’s move is part of its bigger plan to compete with Google, offering a more personal way to find products online. While Google dominates online shopping searches, many feel that ads and paid placements have hurt the quality of Google’s search results over time.
Importantly, OpenAI says it is picking shopping results independently, based on product information like prices, descriptions, and reviews from third parties. There are no ads involved in this update, and OpenAI is not making money from purchases through ChatGPT, for now.
While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been against putting ads in ChatGPT, he recently said he might be open to “tasteful” advertising, like earning affiliate fees without selling higher placement in search results.
Soon, OpenAI plans to add its “memory” feature to shopping for Pro and users.
This means ChatGPT will remember past conversations and make even more personalized shopping suggestions. However, this memory feature won’t be available in the EU, U.K., Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, or Liechtenstein due to local regulations.
Along with the shopping update, ChatGPT search will now show trending searches when users start typing, similar to Google’s autocomplete. Plus, ChatGPT’s search feature has now launched on WhatsApp, letting users get instant answers through the messaging app.
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OpenAI had already been exploring shopping tools with its “Operator” platform, which could take minutes to find products across the web. The new ChatGPT shopping search is faster and gives users a more direct, hands-on way to find what they need using natural conversation.
