Chatgpt's New Shopping Research Tool Is Fast, Fun, And Free - But Can It Out-shop Me?

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ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• OpenAI released a shopping investigation characteristic successful ChatGPT. 
• The acquisition helps you find products and deals. 
• It is rolling retired connected mobile and web for each logged-in ChatGPT users. 

The vacation play is upon us, and nan biggest shopping arena of nan season, Black Friday, is conscionable a fewer days away. In response, OpenAI launched a caller characteristic successful ChatGPT designed to thief you pinch your shopping tasks -- for free.

While nan institution has antecedently launched AI agents focused connected automating nan order-placing process, specified arsenic OpenAI Atlas and Instant Checkout, shopping investigation focuses connected helping you find what you want to acquisition successful nan first place, acting arsenic an "expert individual shopper." 

Also: Best Black Friday deals 2025: 55+ deals connected TVs, laptops, streaming, and more

Similar to Deep Research, erstwhile prompted pinch a merchandise description, ChatGPT will now sift done nan net to put together a guideline for you. It will besides inquire you a bid of clarifying questions, utilizing nan discourse from past conversations, and considering merchandise reviews to create your guide. 

What tin shopping investigation do (and really it works)

Shopping investigation is designed to enactment arsenic an adjunct that tin create a personalized shopping acquisition tailored to your circumstantial criteria and needs successful conscionable a fewer minutes. OpenAI said investigation outputs tin thief pinch a assortment of different tasks, including uncovering a merchandise that meets circumstantial criteria, for example, "help maine find a smartphone pinch 18+hours of artillery life nether $1,500." 

Other examples see uncovering dupes aliases lookalikes of a product, comparing different products pinch a elaborate trade-off database that is catered toward your circumstantial needs, uncovering merchandise deals, and helping you take gifts for group connected your list. 

Also: Why Amazon really doesn't want Perplexity's AI browser shopping for you

The full acquisition is powered by a type of GPT-5-mini that was trained specifically for shopping tasks, according to OpenAI. The institution said that it was trained to "read trusted sites, mention reliable sources, and synthesize accusation crossed galore sources," arsenic good arsenic refine its prompts successful real-time. 

When compared to different ChatGPT models, specified arsenic GPT-5-Thinking aliases ChatGPT Search, shopping investigation leads successful merchandise accuracy. Yet, OpenAI acknowledged that it occasionally makes mistakes astir merchandise details, specified arsenic pricing and availability, and recommended that users ever double-check its work. 

How to usage (and entree it) 

I recovered nan acquisition of utilizing it to beryllium interactive and intuitive. To get started, each logged-in ChatGPT users, including those pinch Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans, tin either inquire a shopping question, which will automatically activate nan feature, aliases prime nan "Shopping research" action from nan paper successful nan matter box.

OpenAI

In your first prompt, picture what you want it to do for you. Then, ChatGPT will travel up pinch questions pertinent to your search, specified arsenic your fund aliases nan features that are important to you. It will besides usage nan discourse it knows astir you, if you person those personalization toggles on, to tailor nan consequence toward you. 

As it conducts nan research, it will show sample products it has found. With each product, you tin bespeak whether you are willing aliases not and why you made that decision, guiding nan investigation further. This was my favourite portion of utilizing nan feature, arsenic it felt for illustration an engaging Tinder-like experience, wherever you tin quickly click done to bespeak whether you for illustration aliases dislike. 

OpenAI

Then, aft a fewer minutes, it will supply you pinch a personalized buyer's guideline that includes nan apical products, comparisons, and links that return you straight to nan retailer's website to spot nan order. In nan future, nan institution plans to merge this characteristic into nan Instant Checkout experience, enabling you to make purchases straight connected nan site.

Also: I fto ChatGPT Atlas do my Walmart shopping for maine - here's really nan AI browser supplier did

OpenAI said that personification chats are ne'er shared pinch retailers and that nan results are generated organically, based connected publically disposable websites. Sites that want to look successful results must let OpenAI's crawlers to entree their site, which tin beryllium done by pursuing nan instructions for nan allowlisting process. 

When I asked OpenAI really users tin spot that nan sites and products being recommended are from morganatic sources, I was told that nan exemplary was trained to debar low-quality and spam sites, to thief guarantee users get nan champion personification experience. At nan aforesaid event, I had nan opportunity to effort nan characteristic myself, and I had a batch much nosy than I anticipated. 

My experience

I sewage a sneak peek astatine nan caller feature, and nan biggest standout to maine was really interactive nan acquisition was. 

For example, successful 1 demo, nan personification uploaded an image of Jeremy Strong successful Succession and asked wherever he could find a akin turtleneck, for a little price. While you apt could person reverse image searched that connected Google, this clip nan personification was capable to participate a speedy prompt, spell done nan refining "not interested" aliases "more for illustration this" process, and get a group of options. 

In different instance, I wanted to trial uncovering suitable products for my dog. I typed successful nan prompt, "I want to bargain canine treats for a 15-pound Yorkie." It past asked follow-up questions, specified arsenic "Preferred dainty types?" pinch multiple-choice answers that read: "Crunchy biscuits, jerky bites, soft chews, and freeze-dried." 

OpenAI

Then it showed maine nan speedy feedback experience, wherever I could bespeak whether I was much aliases little willing successful nan products. I was past capable to opportunity "not interested" and supply reasoning, specified arsenic "too expensive" aliases "my canine didn't for illustration this brand," which helped constrictive down nan options. While nan shopping guideline was yet not groundbreaking, I recovered it adjuvant and would person felt comfortable purchasing 1 of its recommended products, aliases astatine slightest utilizing it arsenic a starting point. 

Then I told ChatGPT that I wanted a dress for a circumstantial semi-formal juncture that is fitted, features a popular of color, and is astir $100. Out of nan options that it gave me, immoderate were truthful bully that I took a image connected my telephone to reference later.

Also: Beware of getting your merchandise buying proposal from AI for 1 large reason, says Ziff Davis CEO

But my favourite usage lawsuit was utilizing it to find gifts for people. Gift-giving is thing I return peculiar pridefulness successful and bask doing, truthful I wanted to spot if nan AI could outdo me. I built a analyzable prompt: "I americium looking for a gift for my friend who loves reading, has a 12lb yorkie, moved to a caller apartment, wants to recreation much adjacent year, and is obsessed pinch Mickey Mouse. She is 32 years aged and lives successful NYC." 

It asked which gift themes I liked, of which I selected all: "reading and books, canine accessories, location decor, and recreation essentials." Then it provided immoderate nosy options. Of course, because I entered truthful galore different characteristics, immoderate merchandise suggestions missed nan mark, specified arsenic Mickey-themed everything. However, immoderate were thoughtful, pinch my favourite being a gift paper to The Strand, a bookstore I hap to emotion successful NYC, and possibly I wouldn't person known astir it if I didn't unrecorded here. 

The verdict

Ultimately, do I deliberation it will wholly switch really I shop? No. This is mostly because I emotion nan creation of uncovering nan cleanable merchandise online, whether it's a gift for personification aliases thing I request myself. 

However, I do deliberation it could beryllium a helpful, time-saving tool, particularly if I'm trying to enactment wrong a circumstantial budget.