Key Highlights:
- OpenAI has launched a new “Shopping Research” tool in ChatGPT to simplify product discovery with guided, conversational workflows.
- Powered by a custom GPT-5 mini model, the tool pulls real-time specs, pricing, images, and recommendations from trusted retailers.
- The feature adapts to user preferences, uses ChatGPT’s memory, and delivers structured buyer guides, though it may still face occasional pricing or spec inaccuracies.
The holiday season is finally here and OpenAI is trying to make the most out of it by rolling out a new shopping research experience inside ChatGPT. And, honestly, it might be one of handy updates for those who feel overwhelmed when shopping online, especially when there are hundreds of thousands of similar products to choose from.
Dubbed “Shopping Research,” this new tool makes the usual product-hunting process hassle-free. You get every bit of information into a guided, conversational workflow powered by a custom version of GPT-5 mini. The tool is available now on the ChatGPT web and mobile apps for logged-in users across Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans. And for the holiday season, OpenAI is offering nearly unlimited usage across all tiers.
ChatGPT’s new ‘Shopping Research’ tool will see you through holiday season
With the new feature in place, you can prompt ChatGPT with anything from “Find the quietest cordless vacuum for a small apartment” to “Help me choose between these three bikes.” ChatGPT then opens a dedicated research mode for searching products. You’ll then be asked clarifying questions, builds constraints, checks reliable retail sources, evaluates specifications, and pulls images and pricing in real time.
OpenAI says the experience is visual, guided, and interactive. You can even mark products as “Not interested” or ask for “More like this,” and the tool updates the research instantly. This back-and-forth flow is powered by a version of GPT-5 mini post-trained with reinforcement learning specifically for shopping tasks.
Also read: Target to Launch a New Conversational, Curated Shopping App in ChatGPTChatGPT Shopping Research
The new tool also uses the memory feature
According to OpenAI’s internal benchmarks, the model hits a product accuracy score of 64%, outperforming standard GPT-5-Thinking models when matching user requirements such as price, color, material, or specs. What’s more interesting is that the AI tool is perfect when it comes to searching through complex product categories, including electronics, home and kitchen, beauty, sports gear, and outdoor essentials.
If you just want to check a feature or confirm a price, a normal ChatGPT response is faster. But if you’re eyeing anything from comparisons or tradeoffs, ‘Shopping Research’ takes just a few minutes to offer you a much deeper, organized guide.
OpenAI says that the smart shopping tool also leverages ChatGPT’s memory. For example, if you’ve chatted with ChatGPT about you being a gamer, the new “Shopping Research” feature can remember those things to come up with laptop or monitor recommendations automatically. Easy, right? OpenAI also mentions that Pro users running ChatGPT Pulse might even receive proactive suggestions — such as accessories for an e-bike they talked about earlier.
Also read: ChatGPT Atlas: The Next Big Step Towards Smarter, Context-Aware AI
Here’s How it Works
There are two ways you can start using the Shopping Research feature. First, you can simply ask ChatGPT a shopping-related question, and it will recommend activating the new smart tool. Next up, you can open the (+) menu and select the tool manually. Once launched, a visual interface appears where you can describe what you need.
Then, ChatGPT asks questions to understand your preferences. For example, budget, who’s it for, size, weight, features, and more. Next, you’ll see ChatGPT searching across trusted, high-quality retailers to pull in data like pricing, availability, reviews, and specs. Within a few minutes, you’ll get a structured buyer’s guide with: Top Recommendations, Key differences, Important tradeoffs, source citations, links to verified sellers.
You can click on the recommended products and land directly on the sourced website to make your purchase. As of now, you can’t checkout directly from inside ChatGPT. But, OpenAI says that the “Instant Checkout” will arrive down the line for supported merchants. All that said, OpenAI warns that the feature isn’t perfect yet. Price changes, stock fluctuations, and occasional misreads of product specs can occur. Therefore, users are encouraged to confirm final details on the retailer site before purchasing.
