OpenAI Launches Shopping Research Assistant Inside ChatGPT

OpenAI has officially announced a major new feature inside ChatGPT — Shopping Research, an AI-driven experience designed to help users find the right products quickly and confidently. The update comes as a direct response to Google’s AI Mode and Gemini 3 shopping capabilities, marking a significant step forward in AI-assisted commerce.

The new feature is rolling out now to logged-in users across Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans on both mobile and web. OpenAI says usage will be “nearly unlimited” during the holiday season, making it easier for millions of users to research products without leaving ChatGPT.

What Shopping Research Can Do

According to OpenAI, the feature can act as a personalized product expert. When a user asks a shopping-related question, ChatGPT will automatically suggest enabling Shopping Research.

Once activated, it will:

• Ask clarifying questions

• Research deeply across the internet

• Check quality sources

• Compare product differences and tradeoffs

• Tailor results to your preferences and ChatGPT memory

• Deliver a personalized buyer’s guide within minutes

This eliminates the need to manually compare products, read dozens of reviews, or search multiple retailer sites.

OpenAI notes:

“It’s a clear summary that normally would take a lot of comparing, reading, and checking on your own.”

How It Works

OpenAI revealed that Shopping Research is powered by a specialized model: GPT-5 mini, trained using reinforcement learning specifically for shopping and product evaluation tasks.

The model has been trained to:

• Read trusted product and review sites

• Cite reliable sources

• Synthesize key insights

• Compare features objectively

• Adjust findings in real time as users change preferences

The interactive nature of the system lets you refine price ranges, features, or brands — and ChatGPT will instantly update its recommendations.

Impact on Affiliate Sites

Not everyone is celebrating the new feature. Industry watchers like Glenn Gabe commented on X that affiliate websites may face significant disruption, as ChatGPT now directly provides detailed product research and quality assessments.

“Alarms are going off at affiliate sites now.”
“And wait, it reviews quality scores.”

Since ChatGPT can now summarize top products without users visiting external articles, affiliate traffic may decline — a trend similar to what SEO publishers have already seen with AI Overviews in Google.

Why This Matters

This launch represents OpenAI’s next step into agentic commerce, following:

• April’s rollout of ChatGPT Shopping Search

• Last month’s Agentic Commerce Protocol to automate purchases

Shopping Research pushes this further by offering personalized, real-time buyer’s guides, effectively becoming a trusted product advisor.

As AI models become more capable of evaluating product information directly, the future of online shopping may shift from search-based browsing to conversation-driven product discovery.

Final Thoughts

OpenAI’s Shopping Research feature marks one of the biggest advancements in AI-driven shopping to date. By combining GPT-5 mini with real-time research and personalized insights, the company is positioning ChatGPT as a central tool for product decisions — potentially reshaping how consumers shop online.

As the rollout continues, users can expect faster, more accurate, and more tailored recommendations than traditional search or review sites.

If you’re a ChatGPT user, simply ask a shopping question — the new assistant may already be available in your account.