California — OpenAI is making a bold move into the online shopping space by upgrading ChatGPT’s web search tool, offering users a faster, smarter, and more personalized product discovery experience.
Starting today, users of GPT-4o—the latest default model powering ChatGPT—can search for products using natural language queries and receive customized shopping recommendations. The feature, now live for Pro, Plus, Free, and even logged-out users globally, delivers a curated list of products complete with images, reviews, and direct links to buy.
OpenAI is currently testing the feature in major categories such as fashion, beauty, home decor, and electronics. Users can pose very specific queries, e.g., “best budget noise-cancelling headphones for travel,” and ChatGPT will draw on structured data—price, description, reviews—from reliable third-party sources to make suggestions. Importantly, OpenAI says this rollout is ad-free, and it does not earn affiliate commissions from purchases made through ChatGPT search—at least for now.
CEO Sam Altman, historically resistant to ads, recently suggested he may consider “tasteful” monetization via affiliate fees, though not through sponsored search results.
The upgrade marks OpenAI’s latest push to rival Google in one of its most lucrative sectors: e-commerce search. Unlike traditional engines, ChatGPT aims to deliver direct, clutter-free answers without the influence of paid placement—an increasingly criticized aspect of Google’s search model.
Future updates promise even more personalization. Pro and Plus users will soon benefit from integrated memory, allowing ChatGPT to tailor shopping suggestions based on past interactions. This feature, however, won’t be available in the EU, U.K., and a few other regions due to regulatory restrictions.
Also, ChatGPT search now shows trending queries and has launched on WhatsApp, bringing real-time, AI-powered product discovery to users’ favorite messaging platform.
Disclaimer: The news articles published on Growing Pro Technologies are based on reports from reputable third-party sources and are not original reporting by Growing Pro Technologies. While we strive to ensure accuracy and integrity, we cannot guarantee the completeness or timeliness of the information provided.
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