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OpenAI Launches ChatGPT ‘Shopping Research’ for Guided Product Discovery

Purchases still happen on retailer sites as Instant Checkout awaits integration.

Overview

  • The feature is rolling out globally on web and mobile to Free, Go, Plus, and Pro users who are signed in, with nearly unlimited use through the holiday period.
  • Powered by a shopping‑specialized GPT‑5 mini, it asks clarifying questions, shows examples to like or dismiss, finds lookalikes from photos, and can draw on prior chats.
  • OpenAI reports improved multi‑constraint matching at 64% versus 37% previously, while cautioning that prices and availability may be inaccurate and should be verified on merchant sites.
  • Results are organic from publicly available retail pages, user chats are not shared with merchants, and retailers can appear by allowlisting their sites.
  • Catalog coverage depends on retailer policies, with Amazon limiting crawler access, and in‑chat purchasing remains separate via existing Instant Checkout partners such as Walmart, Target, Etsy, and participating Shopify stores.