OpenAI Introduces Personalized Shopping Assistance
OpenAI has launched Shopping Research, a new ChatGPT feature that acts as a personal product advisor, helping users research, compare, and create curated buying guides directly within a chat.
The feature is available across web and mobile apps for all logged-in users—including Free, Go, Plus, and Pro—streamlining the often complex online shopping process.
Instead of opening multiple tabs, users can describe what they need, such as a quiet vacuum for a small apartment, a gaming laptop under $1,000, or a gift for a child interested in art. The tool then asks follow-up questions, gathers information from trusted retailers, checks prices and availability, and generates a personalized buyer’s guide within minutes.
During the holiday season, OpenAI is offering nearly unlimited usage for all plans, making it easier for users to take full advantage of the feature.
The tool is powered by a specialized version of GPT-5 mini, optimized for shopping tasks. It is trained to read high-quality sources, cite them, and synthesize product information with greater accuracy. OpenAI notes that it outperforms ChatGPT Search and other GPT-5 variants on complex queries with multiple criteria.
Interactive, Personalized, and Future-Focused
Shopping Research works interactively: users can mark items as “Not interested” or “More like this,” allowing recommendations to adapt in real time. For those with ChatGPT Memory enabled, the guidance becomes even more personalized, such as remembering preferences for gaming-friendly hardware.
Importantly, OpenAI assures that user chats are not shared with retailers and that product listings are organic and unsponsored. Merchants can request to be allowlisted but cannot affect rankings.
OpenAI acknowledges that pricing and availability may occasionally be inaccurate and advises users to confirm details before purchasing. The company also plans to offer direct checkout within ChatGPT for select merchants in the future.
Despite these innovations, Google maintains a strong position due to its integrated ecosystem, including Search, Android, Gmail, Maps, YouTube, and its growing AI capabilities, making it a formidable competitor.
While newer companies are building ecosystems from scratch or integrating with chatbots, Google’s extensive reach across devices and services gives it an advantage in matching or surpassing offerings from competitors.
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