This is a new feature that promises to be no good for Google. While ChatGPT (and generative AI in general) is increasingly establishing itself as an improved search engine in Internet users' habits, OpenAI has just announced the improvement of shopping features via ChatGPT Search. An advancement that brings the chatbot even closer to a Google-like search engine, while shaking up the codes of e-commerce.
ChatGPT, your new intelligent shopping assistant
Since April 28, OpenAI has begun rolling out a feature A major feature of ChatGPT: the ability to shop directly from the AI interface. Simply ask ChatGPT for product recommendations – in categories like fashion, beauty, home, or electronics – to receive, in natural language, a personalized selection, accompanied by images, summaries of consumer reviews, and direct links to the merchant sites where you can complete the purchase. Up to Until now, this type of interaction was impossible, as the bot simply provided us with some generic advice based on a specific query.
This new feature aims to make it easy to compare multiple items, ask additional questions, or request specific opinions, without having to navigate through dozens of pages of results. In the long term, it's also a safe bet that it will allow you to find the best price for a product you're looking for. For now, the feature is only available in the United States, but will gradually be rolled out in all countries where ChatGPT is available, including for free users.
No ads or commissions, for now
Unlike Google Shopping, whose results are often influenced by sponsored ads and paid placements, OpenAI insists on the neutrality of its service: recommendations will be generated independently, without ads or commissions on sales made via ChatGPT. Product suggestions will be based on metadata from third-party sources (prices, descriptions, customer reviews), and not on commercial agreements with merchants. At least initially. It's hard to believe that OpenAI will resist the sirens of advertiser monetization to make up for its lack of profitability and satisfy its ever-growing ambitions.
A direct response to Google and the rise of AI in search
This further step towards e-commerce puts OpenAI in direct competition with Google, which has historically dominated online product search. The Mountain View firm has also reacted by integrating its own assistant, Gemini into search results, which will now offer AI-generated answers above traditional links. But where While Google often favors sponsored content, ChatGPT focuses on organicity and personalization, aiming for a more fluid user experience that is less polluted by advertising.
OpenAI already claims to have conducted more than a billion product searches via ChatGPT in one week, demonstrating the public's appetite for this type of conversational interface. The company wants to go even further, having announced the upcoming addition of a "memory" to shopping: ChatGPT will thus be able to remember the tastes and needs of each user to refine its recommendations over time. A hell of a long-term promise.
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