OpenAI unveils shopping research tool in ChatGPT

OpenAI has launched a new shopping research feature in ChatGPT, allowing users to receive product recommendations and buying guides based on their queries.

The tool is available on mobile and web for logged-in users across Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans.

Users can describe what they are looking for, and ChatGPT will ask clarifying questions, search for product information from various online sources, and compile a personalized guide.

The feature is designed to assist with detailed product decisions, especially in categories like electronics, home, and sports.

OpenAI said shopping research uses a version of its GPT-5 mini model, which has been trained for shopping queries and references information from public retail sites.

The company noted that the tool may make errors regarding price or availability, and recommends checking merchant websites for the most accurate information.

OpenAI said user chats are not shared with retailers, and results are based on organic search rather than paid placements.

🔗 Source: OpenAI

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

OpenAI hasn’t disclosed a revenue model for shopping research

OpenAI has not shared how shopping research will make money. It could use affiliate links or referral deals with retailers, though OpenAI says it takes no affiliate revenue and results are organic, not paid 1. eMarketer analyst Yoram Wurmser says the in chat flow fits affiliate commissions from traffic that converts 2.
Affiliate marketing in the US is worth $11.99 billion in 2025 2. ChatGPT shopping research can surface picks in chat, which may cut clicks to affiliate sites. Nearly 60% of Google searches ended without a click in 2024 2. Commentators warn of agentic commerce features, AI agents that handle research or checkout tasks 3. They could shift commissions outside cookie based and link based tracking 3.
Merchants and affiliate publishers lack clarity on monetization or tracking, which blocks planning in AI driven commerce.

Merchants can win visibility by making pages LLM-friendly

Make product pages easy for AI crawlers. Use structured Product schema markup (standardized data that labels price plus availability plus brand plus reviews), publish clear price plus stock data, allow GPTBot (OpenAI’s web crawler) to access the site 4. ChatGPT pulls from public retail pages and high quality reviews 1.
Marketing agencies and feed management Software as a Service (SaaS) can sell Large Language Model (LLM) shopping SEO services. Affiverse says more than one million Shopify merchants will soon be added to ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout, which raises demand for AI readable product data and attribution skills 3.
Tech firms building attribution tools can track which products ChatGPT surfaces and link AI driven discovery to sales data, closing gaps from zero click journeys 2.