ChatGPT and Perplexity Revolutionize AI Shopping

The landscape of online shopping is undergoing a significant transformation with the introduction of new AI-driven experiences from ChatGPT and Perplexity. These platforms are designed to offer highly personalized product discovery and guidance, allowing users to find, compare, and buy items through natural, conversational interactions that take their preferences and past behavior into account.

ChatGPT has rolled out a feature called Shopping Research, which effectively turns the AI into a dedicated personal shopping assistant. Users can describe what they are looking for, such as a “quiet cordless vacuum” or request to “compare these strollers.” The system then asks follow-up questions to better understand the user’s needs. It gathers pricing, specifications, and review data from across the open web, delivering a customized buyer’s guide in just a few minutes. The experience is dynamic; it learns from user feedback when they mark items as “More like this” or “Not interested,” and it leverages ChatGPT’s memory to adapt future recommendations.

This new functionality is powered by a specialized GPT-5 mini model that is fine-tuned specifically for shopping-related tasks. It is engineered to source reliable information from trusted websites and provides citations for its data. The feature is available immediately on both free and paid ChatGPT plans via web and mobile, with the company promoting “nearly unlimited” usage throughout the holiday season. Looking forward, planned Instant Checkout integrations will enable users to complete their purchases directly within the ChatGPT interface for partnered merchants.

Meanwhile, Perplexity has launched its own free shopping experience in the U.S., built on the principle that an AI assistant should enhance the shopper’s capabilities rather than replace them. Users can conduct searches using everyday language, for example, asking for the “best winter jacket for a San Francisco ferry commute.” The AI maintains the context of the conversation as the user explores related products. It also remembers stated preferences, such as a liking for mid-century modern furniture or minimalist running gear, and uses this information to tailor the product cards it generates.

Instead of presenting users with an endless scroll of options, Perplexity creates streamlined product cards that highlight only the details relevant to the user’s specific query. A key component of this experience is the integrated checkout, made possible through a partnership with PayPal. This allows for fast, in-conversation purchases. Importantly, the retailers remain the merchant of record, meaning they retain customer visibility, handle returns, and maintain direct relationships with their buyers. Perplexity points out that shoppers who engage with this conversational funnel typically show higher purchase intent, and the instant checkout feature helps to reduce cart abandonment rates. The new shopping experience is currently live on desktop and web, with iOS and Android app versions expected to roll out in the coming weeks.

These developments highlight AI assistants as a powerful new channel for e-commerce. ChatGPT focuses on delivering in-depth product research, while Perplexity emphasizes smooth discovery and a seamless, integrated purchasing process. Both companies are striving to become the primary starting point for consumers by providing brand and product recommendations that feel genuinely personal and closely aligned with individual user preferences.

(Source: Search Engine Land)