OpenAI's ChatGPT initiates AI-powered shopping research with notable accuracy

OpenAI has introduced a new shopping research tool within ChatGPT, aiming to transform how consumers discover and evaluate products online. This feature, available since November 24, 2025, for all logged-in users on Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, offers personalized buyer guides tailored to user needs, preferences, and budgets. It represents a significant shift in consumer behavior, potentially challenging traditional search engines like Google for dominance in product discovery.

Revolutionary Product Discovery

The ChatGPT shopping research tool leverages a specialized GPT-5 mini variant that was post-trained on GPT-5-Thinking-mini. This advanced AI allows users to describe their specific shopping requirements, such as price, features, or availability, and receive curated, real-time product recommendations. The system also enables users to refine results by marking items as "Not interested" or "More like this", ensuring the suggestions evolve according to user feedback.

According to OpenAI’s internal evaluation, the tool achieved a 52% product accuracy rate on multi-constraint queries, significantly outperforming ChatGPT Search’s 37% accuracy. This metric evaluates how well the tool meets user requirements for attributes like price, material, or specifications. While the technology isn’t flawless and may occasionally misrepresent details such as price or availability, users can consult merchant websites for confirmation.

Enhanced Consumer Experience

A key feature distinguishing this tool is its ability to create detailed buyer guides for complex searches. For example, it adapts its interface depending on user needs, offering tailored recommendations for searches like "Christmas gift for a 13-year-old girl" or "best white sneakers under $100."

Consumer response to the tool has been positive. Olivia Moore, a user who tested the feature, shared her thoughts on social media: "Tested ChatGPT's new Shopping Research feature and I'm pretty impressed. The UI is adaptive to what you're searching for - it asked me different questions and even organized the results differently when I was looking for 'Christmas gift for a 13 year old girl' vs. 'best white sneakers under $100.'"

Moreover, users with ChatGPT’s memory function enabled can benefit from recommendations that incorporate past conversations for a more personalized shopping experience.

Implications for Retailers

The introduction of this tool creates a new competitive landscape for retailers. Merchants must go through an allowlisting process with OpenAI to ensure their products are visible in ChatGPT’s results. This requirement could reshape retail strategies, as visibility may increasingly depend on how well product data is optimized for AI-driven discovery.

Caleb Bradley, founder and CEO of Bighorn Web Solutions, highlighted the potential challenges retailers face: "AI-driven discovery puts pressure on the foundation of an online store. Retailers on Shopify, Magento, or any custom build need cleaner product data, faster site performance, and tighter integrations if they want their catalog to surface in these tools."

Major retailers such as Walmart and Target are already collaborating with OpenAI to ensure their products are well-represented in this new ecosystem. The company also plans to introduce direct purchasing through ChatGPT for merchants participating in its Instant Checkout feature, although no timeline has been provided.

A Threat to Traditional Search Engines?

The tool’s ability to streamline complex shopping processes positions it as a potential disruptor to Google’s dominance. Unlike conventional search engines, which rely on users navigating multiple tabs, ChatGPT’s research tool consolidates the entire discovery process into a single conversation. However, for straightforward searches, Google still maintains an edge in speed and simplicity.

The long-term impact on search engine optimization (SEO) and retail media planning remains to be seen. If consumers increasingly rely on AI-powered tools for their shopping decisions, businesses will need to adapt their strategies to align with these new discovery methods.

Conclusion

OpenAI’s shopping research tool marks a significant step in the evolution of e-commerce. By providing personalized and accurate product recommendations, it shifts the shopping experience away from traditional search engines and into the realm of conversational AI. While the tool is not without limitations, its potential to reshape consumer behavior and retail strategies is undeniable.

As OpenAI continues to refine this feature, businesses and consumers alike will need to adapt to the rising influence of AI in the shopping journey. For now, the battle for visibility in the online marketplace is no longer confined to search engine rankings but extends to how well products are represented in AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT.

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