- OpenAI has updated the web search capability of ChatGPT to make it more useful for shopping. And the experience is ad-free for now.
- Users can explore recommended items with visual product cards, reviews, and pricing. You can click on the direct link to buy the product.
- The new shopping features in ChatGPT are rolling out to all users, including free, Plus, Pro, and even logged-out users.
OpenAI is “experimenting” with ChatGPT to make the popular AI chatbot more useful for shopping. ChatGPT is getting updates to its web search capability to make it easier for users to find, compare, and buy products in ChatGPT. Users will now see detailed product cards, visual information, pricing, and reviews for recommended items in ChatGPT.
In addition, users can click on the direct link to buy the item from ChatGPT. OpenAI says recommended products are “chosen independently” and are not ads or sponsored items. If you click on a product card in ChatGPT, a new sidebar opens up where you can find all the details, just like Google Shopping.
OpenAI says that while there are no ads or sponsorships in ChatGPT yet, the company is working with external partners to improve price accuracy. The new shopping improvements in ChatGPT are rolling out to all users including Free, Plus, Pro, and even logged-out users.
It appears that it’s just the beginning before OpenAI rolls out ads in ChatGPT in the future. Last year in December, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told the Financial Times that the company is weighing an ad business model. However, she stressed that OpenAI has to be “thoughtful” about when and where ads should appear. Later, she retracted the statement and said there are no active plans.
Besides that, OpenAI announced that you can do web searches in WhatsApp while chatting with ChatGPT. You can already use ChatGPT on WhatsApp by messaging 1-800-ChatGPT (+1-800-242-8478). But web search is new on WhatsApp.
Finally, OpenAI has improved citations in ChatGPT. In ChatGPT search queries, it now includes multiple citations, and you can hover over links to check which part of the response the citation refers to. And lastly, ChatGPT now shows better trending searches and autocomplete suggestions.
