Shoppers logging into ChatGPT this season may notice a quieter but powerful change in how the assistant responds to product questions.
Ask for the best TV in a bright room or help picking a gift, and a new experience called “shopping research” steps in to do the heavy lifting, turning the chatbot into a guided buying companion during the busiest retail period of the year.
How Shopping Research Changes The Way People Buy Online
Any shopping-related question can now trigger a structured research flow inside ChatGPT across mobile and web for users on Free, Go, Plus and Pro plans.
OpenAI says usage will be “nearly unlimited” during the holiday period, opening the door for deeper and more frequent product comparisons without extra cost.
Instead of a standard answer, users are prompted to refine their needs through follow-up questions.
Budget, purpose, features and personal preferences can all be filtered in a similar way to traditional retail sites, but in a conversational format.
Within minutes, ChatGPT generates a personalised buyer’s guide, highlighting suitable options, key differences and practical trade-offs.
From Simple Questions To Full Buyer Guides
Straightforward checks, such as confirming a price or a single feature, will continue to trigger the usual ChatGPT response.
The new research mode is designed for more complex decisions, where users want to weigh specifications, performance and value before committing.
The tool pulls data from trusted, publicly available retail sites, scanning details such as specifications, images, reviews, pricing and availability.
While OpenAI has improved accuracy, it cautions that errors are still possible on elements like price or stock levels, encouraging users to confirm information on the merchant’s website before purchasing.
Will You Soon Be Able To Buy Directly Inside ChatGPT
For now, users are linked out to retailers to complete purchases.
However, OpenAI has confirmed that Instant Checkout is on the way, allowing users to buy directly within ChatGPT through participating merchants.
The early rollout of Instant Checkout has already begun with Etsy sellers in the United States.
More than one million Shopify merchants, including brands such as Glossier, SKIMS, Spanx and Vuori, are expected to follow.
Target and Walmart have also announced partnerships with ChatGPT, signalling a wider shift towards AI-led shopping.
AI Shopping Is Heating Up Across The Tech Industry
OpenAI is not the only player pushing into this space.
Google has introduced new AI-powered features in its AI Mode, while Perplexity’s Comet browser has launched an agent capable of shopping on a user’s behalf.
As one observer put it, the trend reflects what The Verge’s Nilay Patel has called “the DoorDash problem”, where convenience is reshaping how people interact with traditional platforms.
The Role Of Pulse And Personal Memory
Pro users will also see shopping research surface through ChatGPT Pulse.
This feature can proactively recommend buyer guides based on past conversations.
OpenAI used the example of a user who has been discussing e-bikes, where a future Pulse card could suggest useful accessories.
If ChatGPT’s memory setting is enabled, the experience becomes more tailored.
A laptop recommendation, for instance, may take into account whether the user has previously mentioned gaming, design work or travel.
Built On GPT-5 Mini And Trained For Retail Tasks
According to OpenAI, the feature runs on a version of GPT-5 mini, refined through reinforcement learning to perform better on shopping-related tasks.
The model reads from quality sources, avoids low-value or spammy sites and adjusts its suggestions based on real-time feedback such as “more like this” or “not interested”.
Privacy remains a key part of the process.
OpenAI states that user chats are not shared with retailers, and that recommendations are generated from publicly available information rather than ads.
The company said in a blog post,
“To help with holiday shopping, we're making nearly unlimited usage available to all plans through the holidays.”
Early Results Show Promise And Limitations
In one test by Axios, the tool surfaced a pair of Ugg slippers listed at $110, including a URL.
However, when checking the retailer’s site, the lowest price was actually $150, and checkout was not possible from within ChatGPT.
OpenAI openly acknowledges these limitations, describing the rollout as an early step in improving how people discover and compare products through ChatGPT.
As the holiday shopping frenzy builds, ChatGPT’s new role is clear: less searching, more clarity — and a far more guided path to the right purchase.
Aaron
Davin
Kikyo
Catherine
Hui Xin
Joy