ChatGPT has a new feature allowing users to browse and shop products directly through AI-generated recommendations, without a search engine, shopping site, or even a scroll. It's the biggest shift in digital commerce since the algorithm killed the homepage. And if brands don't adapt fast, they'll be left behind in a conversation they're no longer part of. This isn't just about ecommerce. It's about how people choose what matters.
OpenAI announced shopping research within ChatGPT, "a new experience in ChatGPT that does the research for you to help you find the right products," as OpenAI put it. ChatGPT can now help you research the right product for you. OpenAI wrote, "it asks smart clarifying questions, researches deeply across the internet, reviews quality sources, and builds on ChatGPT's understanding of you from past conversations and your ChatGPT memory to deliver a personalized buyer's guide in minutes."
ChatGPT now drives roughly 20% of Walmart's referral traffic, Modern Retail previously reported. It's worth noting, however, that referral clicks account for less than 5% of total site visits. A working paper authored by OpenAI's Economic Research team found that around 2% of all ChatGPT queries involve shopping, or about 50 million queries per day. Selling its wares within ChatGPT positions Walmart to capture sales if AI-powered shopping takes off.
OpenAI said it will allow users in the U.S. to make purchases directly through ChatGPT using a new "Instant Checkout" feature powered by a payment protocol for AI developed by Stripe.The new chatbot shopping feature is a big step towards helping OpenAI monetize its 700 million weekly users, many of whom currently pay nothing to interact with ChatGPT, as well as a move that could eventually steal significant market share from traditional Google search advertising.