OpenAI recently revealed shopping research in ChatGPT, aimed at providing deep research to help people find the right products for their needs. This move, along with several others over the last few months, shows that OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as an ecommerce hub, and ecommerce brands need to take notice.
Shopping Research and Comparison Right in ChatGPT
In a post made on the company website, OpenAI revealed the shopping research feature, which automates much of the product research process for you. This feature will improve and deepen the experience of product discovery by asking you clarifying questions, reviewing quality sources, and building shopping guides. A simple ChatGPT response may suffice for some people, but this feature is for those who want a deeper and more well-researched answer to a shopping-related question.
The feature can help find new products, choose gifts, compare items, locate similar products, and even look for deals. Shopping research is available for those on the Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans.
Using the Feature
You can use the feature either by asking a shopping-related question and tapping the shopping research suggestion that pops up, or by selecting the feature from the menu directly.
Next, you simply explain the product you’re looking for, and answer questions related to your budget, who the item is for, the features you care the most about, and more.
From there, the tool searches the internet for updated information, images, prices, specs, and more, and you have full control throughout the process, as you can interact with suggestions by marking items as “Not interested” or “More like this”. This helps the feature adapt to your feedback and better understand what you’re looking for.
Once you’ve given your feedback and a few minutes pass, you’ll get a personalized and clear guide that details the top product options, differences between them, and more. However, make sure to double-check information and not take what the shopping research states as fact, as OpenAI admits that the feature isn’t perfect and may make mistakes about things like price and product availability.
To purchase an item, you’ll often be able to click through to visit the retailer’s site. However, if the merchant is a member of ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout feature, you’ll be able to make the purchase right in the chat.
ChatGPT Turning Into an Ecommerce Hub
While this new feature is certainly exciting for shoppers and ecommerce brands alike, it shouldn’t come as a major surprise. It’s the latest in a long line of moves that OpenAI has made that seem to signify that it wants ChatGPT to become an ecommerce hub.
This includes the launch of the aforementioned instant checkout feature, as well as OpenAI teaming up with Walmart and Target to offer in-chat shopping. Also, even before the release of this feature, many people have already been using ChatGPT and AI in general for product research and other ecommerce tasks.
For example, a recent survey of 4,000 people across the USA, Canada, the UK, and Australia found that around 50% of online shoppers use generative AI at least once a month for ecommerce tasks. They use it for everything from researching products, gathering recommendations, finding deals, getting gift ideas, making shopping lists, or discovering niche products.
This feature from ChatGPT, as well as the widespread use of AI for product research in general, provides ecommerce brands a new way to reach the eyes of customers who may have never known about them otherwise.
While there’s no perfect and foolproof strategy for getting your products into these ChatGPT shopping research results, some helpful tips for ecommerce brands to keep in mind include:
- Optimize your product descriptions to ensure they accurately and clearly highlight the benefits and features of your product, while also using relevant keywords.
- Use high-quality images of your products, and don’t forget to use descriptive alt text to give as much context and information about your images as possible.
- Build up your trust by collecting and displaying positive reviews, and ensure details like your phone number, email, address, and other signs that you’re a legitimate business are visible and consistent from page to page.
- Ensure your data is always accurate by updating your copy to reflect any product or pricing changes, and always signify whether an item is in or out of stock.
