Millions of consumers are already using ChatGPT to research gifts and for other shopping missions, but the AI platform wants to make that process even easier with its new “Shopping Research” experience, which will pose a series of questions following an initial query to develop a personalized buyer’s guide in minutes.
The aim, according to Isa Fulford, the team lead at OpenAI, was to create an “expert personal shopper that knows your preferences and creates a personalized buyer’s guide for high-consideration purchases,” reported long-time tech correspondent Jason Del Rey, who attended a preview of the product and covered it in his publication The Aisle.
Shopping Research is designed for more complicated shopping quests, such as gift-giving or comparing products in “detail-heavy” categories like electronics, beauty, home and garden, kitchen and appliances, and sports and outdoor. It runs as a separate experience that can be accessed either by asking a shopping question in the normal ChatGPT query box and then clicking on Shopping Research, or directly, by using “+” menu or typing “/shopping” into the query box.
“Hundreds of millions of people use ChatGPT to find, understand, and compare products,” said OpenAI in its announcement of the new feature. “They want help making sense of the options and deciding what fits their needs, budget and preferences. Shopping Research is built for that deeper kind of decision-making. It turns product discovery into a conversation.”
Advertisement
Ongoing Question-and-Answer Sharpens AI Recommendations
Once a user enters the Shopping Research dialogue, they can chat and share feedback on product options to guide the research. After explaining what they’re looking for, ChatGPT will pose clarifying questions about things like budget, who the item is for and which features matter most. If the user has memory turned on, the research can be tailored even further.
Products will be presented throughout the conversation, and users can further refine their search by marking items as “Not interested” or “More like this.” ChatGPT will then prepare a buyer’s guide, summarizing the top products, key differences, tradeoffs and up-to-date information from retailers. To purchase, users will be directed to the retailer’s website, although the company said that soon users will be able to purchase directly from merchants who are part of its Instant Checkout offering.
“For simple shopping questions like checking a price or confirming a feature, a regular ChatGPT response is quick and all you need,” explained the company in its announcement. “But when you want depth — comparisons, constraints, tradeoffs — Shopping Research takes a few minutes to give you a more detailed, well-researched answer.”
Shopping Research is already rolling out on mobile and web for logged-in ChatGPT users across the Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, and OpenAI is making “nearly unlimited usage” available for all plans through the holidays. The chats themselves will never be shared with retailers, and OpenAI said results are organic and based on publicly available retail sites.
“Our goal is to help simplify finding the right products,” said the company. “ChatGPT will continue to get better at understanding your preferences, covering more categories and offering more intuitive ways to compare and discover products.”
