Move Over, Google? ChatGPT Launches New Shopping Features

Google isn't the only shopping game in town; the latest ChatGPT update could totally change how you shop online

By
S.E. Slack
S. E. Slack
S.E. Slack
Associate General Manager, Lifewire.com
  • California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo
S.E. Slack has 30+ years' experience writing about technology. She has authored 12 books, thousands of articles, and worked for IBM and Microsoft.
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Published on April 28, 2025
A screenshot of how ChatGPT's new shopping features appear.

OpenAI

Byte-Sized Brief

  • OpenAI is giving users a new online shopping experience with ChatGPT search.
  • When you use ChatGPT, you will now see unsponsored recommendations, images, and product reviews.
  • Initial categories include electronics, home goods, beauty, and fashion products.

Tired of Google running the show with everything you do online? OpenAI is, too. It's updated ChatGPT's search engine, which currently manages more than one billion searches a week, so that you can start shopping through ChatGPT. The process will let you find products and obtain information about them, then send you to the merchant's website to complete the purchase. While there are many similarities to how Google's product searches work, the key difference lies in the results you'll see: Organic results instead of those pesky paid placement ads that Google pushes so relentlessly.

The process is also based on preferences you've already shared with ChatGPT. "I like green shoes," for example, could turn into search results that show green shoes first the next time you shop for "shoes". The shopping search is still in its infancy, so don't expect perfection just yet. But with OpenAI on the prowl for more ways to challenge Google, this could benefit consumers in the long run since the focus is on natural results over paid. The shopping updates will start rolling out today to ChatGPT Plus, Pro, Free, and logged-out users.

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