OpenAI Expands Shopping Features for ChatGPT
OpenAI has expanded the shopping capabilities of ChatGPT, enabling users to make product recommendations, price comparisons, and redirect to shopping platforms all in one go, moving towards a more considerate AI agent that can proactively complete tasks.
ChatGPT Expands Chatbot Services with New Shopping Feature
According to Bloomberg, users can now quickly compare products and click links within ChatGPT to make purchases on external websites. This feature is currently available for a limited number of categories, including electronics, fashion, beauty, and home goods, but is expected to expand to more product categories in the future.
OpenAI is continually attempting to position ChatGPT as a versatile application that offers search engine capabilities, voice assistance, and video generation. This initiative aims to increase the time users spend interacting with the chatbot and help ChatGPT maintain a competitive edge over services from Anthropic, Google, and Elon Musk’s xAI. AI search startup Perplexity AI Inc. has also expanded its shopping features.
Complete Recommendations, Price Comparisons, and Redirects
Users can ask ChatGPT for recommendations on products they wish to purchase by setting price and other requirements. ChatGPT will recommend suitable products and provide platform comparisons. When providing product descriptions and recommendations, ChatGPT also includes source links, allowing users to verify information easily, thus saving them considerable time.
However, ChatGPT currently does not have a built-in shopping function.
This means you cannot directly make purchases or place orders for physical or virtual goods within ChatGPT. The main offerings of ChatGPT are:
- Information inquiry
- Shopping suggestions
- Helping you find the correct platform or process for purchasing products
- Guiding you through product comparisons, price differences, and purchasing steps
In specific situations, if you are using features like “ChatGPT with Browsing” or third-party applications (for instance, e-commerce sites with API integration), ChatGPT can help you find purchase links, but the actual transaction will still redirect to external platforms (such as Amazon, Shopee, Taobao, etc.).
An OpenAI spokesperson stated that the company does not charge affiliate revenue for purchases made through ChatGPT.
Future Direction Towards AI Agent Model
Future AI will increasingly resemble “a competent assistant” rather than merely a “Q&A machine,” and ChatGPT is evolving towards the AI Agent model, which is an inevitable trend.
In the future version of ChatGPT, you might encounter scenarios like:
- “Help me find three home coffee machines under 5000 yuan, compare specifications, and place an order” → ChatGPT automatically queries → Compares → Automatically orders (after your confirmation)
- “Help me schedule a workout plan for August and sync it to my Google Calendar”
Users will no longer need to “give step-by-step instructions,” but instead set goals, allowing ChatGPT to complete the detailed tasks on its own.
OpenAI has begun testing the “Memory Function” (to be released in 2024 and expanded in 2025), allowing ChatGPT to remember personal settings and historical conversations. In the future, ChatGPT will no longer just be a chat companion but will evolve into a digital assistant that understands you better and can assist in completing many tasks.
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