OpenAI Rolls Out a New In-chat Shopping Feature Within ChatGPT

OpenAI Rolls Out a New in-chat Shopping Feature

Let’s be honest - we all use ChatGPT for everything - it is sometimes our personal assistant, sometimes a listener, and sometimes a subject matter expert - no matter what the subject is. 

People have also used ChatGPT as personal stylists. But, no one ever thought they would be able to shop via GPT, and that’s when OpenAI surprised everyone with rolling out a new feature - in chat shopping.

There is no doubt in saying this feature will change the way people pursue E-commerce. But what OpenAI’s in-chat feature means for businesses?

In this blog we will look at this new feature in detail and what E-commerce business owners can do to keep up with trends.

So, what’s the fuss about:

OpenAI's recent launch of an in-chat shopping feature within ChatGPT

With rolling out a new feature - in-chat shopping feature within ChatGPT, OpenAI marks a significant evolution in AI-driven commerce, blending conversational AI with personalized product discovery. This update, rolled out globally on April 28, 2025, enables users to search for products, compare prices, access reviews, and click direct purchase links-all within ChatGPT's interface. The new shopping experience rollout has already begun, and – within days –  Plus, Pro, Free, and logged-out users may try out the new shopping experience.

Let’s see it in reality:

Please note, this feature is currently in limited testing (such as with Shopify merchants) and may not yet be available to all users.

As shown in the video shared by OpenAI, shopping is now as easy as chatting with a friend. Here's a quick example in the image below:

Yes, you simply ask for the product you're looking for, and ChatGPT will suggest options, each with a detailed description and a direct "BUY" button.

It’s worth mentioning that the products shown in the chat are organic, meaning no paid ads. So, there’s no shortcut to getting your product featured by AI. It all depends on how good your product is and how well you present it. (More on this later in the blog.)

For users, this means no more endless product hunting—just quick, smart, and seamless purchases through ChatGPT.

But for businesses, the results might not be this straightforward.

As mentioned earlier, this feature is still in limited testing (like with Shopify merchants) and may not be available to everyone. This statement itself is generated by ChatGPT, raising the most important question of all:

Does OpenAI’s In-Chat Shopping Feature Hint at a Bigger Collaboration with Shopify?

Yes, the rollout of OpenAI’s new in-chat shopping feature strongly hints at a deeper and significant collaboration with Shopify. Recent reports and code discoveries reveal that OpenAI is integrating Shopify’s checkout functionality directly into ChatGPT, allowing users to complete purchases within the chat interface without leaving the conversation.

If the rumors with Shopify materialize, search and checkout will merge into a single flow, offering customers a faster and more efficient way to purchase products.

Though neither OpenAI nor Shopify has officially confirmed the partnership, multiple credible sources and code analysis indicate a formal tie-up, with Shopify’s checkout URLs and “buy_now” commands embedded in ChatGPT’s codebase. 

Industry experts see this as a game-changing move that could position ChatGPT as a dominant player in conversational commerce, offering merchants access to ChatGPT’s vast user base and enabling a collapse of the traditional conversion funnel into a single conversational flow.

Last week, a code leak suggested that OpenAI tested native shopping capabilities with Shopify. This included:

• "shopify_checkout_url" parameter

• "buy_now" functionality

• Pricing and shipping fields

• Product ratings integration

Coming back to our original point - the impact of this feature on businesses.

If you are an E-commerce merchant, you are already part of this game. But it might be that this feature may be a hint for bigger integration between Shopify and OpenAI. And if that’s true, it might mean different things to businesses on Shopify and those who are not - 

What ChatGPT’s in-chat feature Means For Shopify Merchants

• Expanded Reach and Visibility: Shopify merchants gain direct access to ChatGPT’s vast and diverse user base, which exceeds hundreds of millions of weekly active users. This exposure can lead to increased traffic and potential sales by reaching customers who might not have discovered their products otherwise.

• Seamless Conversational Commerce: The integration enables users to discover products, get detailed recommendations, and complete purchases within the ChatGPT interface via Shopify’s secure checkout system. This reduces friction in the buying process, potentially increasing conversion rates and spontaneous purchases.

• Operational Efficiency: Merchants can leverage ChatGPT as a new sales channel without needing to invest heavily in separate marketing campaigns. The AI-driven personalized recommendations help target users more effectively, improving return on investment and allowing merchants to focus on product and service quality.

• Personalized Marketing and Insights: AI-powered insights from ChatGPT’s conversational data can help merchants tailor product offerings and marketing strategies to user preferences, enhancing customer engagement and loyalty.

• Competitive Advantage: Being part of this conversational commerce wave positions Shopify merchants at the forefront of retail innovation, enabling real-time engagement with customers during their decision-making process.

What ChatGPT’s in-chat feature Means For Businesses Not on Shopify

• Increased Competition: Non-Shopify merchants may face challenges gaining visibility within ChatGPT’s shopping interface, especially if the deeper Shopify integration rolls out widely. Shopify’s native checkout and product system integration could make Shopify-based stores more seamless and attractive to users.

• Opportunity to Provide Product Feeds: OpenAI is exploring ways for merchants outside Shopify to provide product feeds directly to ChatGPT. This could allow non-Shopify businesses to appear in recommendations and maintain competitiveness, though the process and benefits may be less integrated than Shopify’s native experience.

• Need to Adapt to AI-Driven Commerce: Businesses outside Shopify will likely need to optimize metadata and product information for AI crawlers like OpenAI’s OAI-SearchBot to ensure their products are discoverable in ChatGPT’s shopping results, similar to SEO for search engines.

• Potential for New Sales Channels: Even without Shopify, businesses can benefit from the increased consumer reliance on AI chatbots for shopping research and product discovery, which could drive referral traffic and sales via direct links to their websites.

With every new feature in the market comes the need to embrace the change. But when it’s about businesses - embracing the change isn’t enough - you have strategies to stay ahead of the competition. And we have some suggestions for that.

Let’s move on to the next section of this blog - 

What can businesses do to get their products recommended by ChatGPT?

1. Choose Conversational Commerce Platforms

• Choose and integrate conversational commerce tools such as chatbots, messaging apps, or platforms like Shopify Inbox that allow direct interaction with customers during their shopping journey. You can migrate your store to Shopify with trusted partners, such as IT Geeks, a Shopify Premier Partner trusted by Shopify to deliver high quality services. 

• Ensure these platforms support multiple channels (WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, etc.) to meet customers where they are.

2. Develop a Clear Conversational Commerce Strategy

• Define the goals for conversational commerce (e.g., increasing sales, reducing cart abandonment, improving customer support).

• Plan conversational flows that guide customers smoothly through awareness, consideration, purchase, and post-purchase stages.

• Decide which inquiries chatbots will handle and when to escalate to human agents for a hybrid support model.

3. Personalize Customer Interactions

• Leverage AI and machine learning to train chatbots with product information, FAQs, and customer preferences for more natural and helpful conversations.

• Use customer data from CRM and other tools to create a 360-degree view, enabling personalized recommendations and proactive messaging.

4. Optimize Product Data and Metadata

• Ensure product information is accurate, comprehensive, and structured to be easily crawled and understood by AI systems like OpenAI’s crawler.

• For non-Shopify merchants, explore ways to provide product feeds or metadata to appear in AI-driven shopping results.

5. Implement Proactive and Contextual Messaging

• Use proactive messaging triggered by user behavior, such as cart abandonment or browsing patterns, to engage customers timely and reduce friction.

• Incorporate click-to-chat links at multiple customer touchpoints to facilitate easy conversation initiation.

6. Integrate Conversational Commerce with Existing Systems

• Ensure seamless integration with CRM, e-commerce platforms, loyalty programs, and customer data platforms to unify customer experience and data flow.

Other things to consider:

1. Test and Measure Performance

• Before full deployment, rigorously test chatbot flows to ensure they answer questions accurately and provide a positive experience.

• Track key metrics such as conversion rates, cart abandonment, customer satisfaction, and average response times to optimize continuously.

2. Prepare for Behavioral and Cultural Shifts

• Educate teams and customers about the benefits and usage of conversational commerce to encourage adoption[OpenAI context].

• Address privacy concerns transparently, especially when using memory or personalized data in AI interactions[OpenAI context].

3. Stay Updated and Innovate

• Monitor emerging AI capabilities like image recognition and augmented reality that can further enhance conversational shopping[OpenAI context].

• Explore partnerships and new channels to expand reach and improve the shopping experience continuously.

By following these steps, e-commerce businesses can position themselves to capitalize on the shift toward AI-powered conversational commerce, improving customer engagement, streamlining sales processes, and staying competitive in a rapidly evolving digital marketplace. More information here.  

Our two cents - 

The launch of in-chat shopping is more than just another feature update. It’s a clear signal that the future of commerce is conversational. With OpenAI entering the eCommerce scene, the lines between browsing, deciding, and buying are dissolving into a seamless, interactive experience.

For businesses, this isn’t the time to sit back and observe. It’s the time to act, optimize, and align with platforms shaping the future of digital shopping.

And the best part? In eCommerce, you don’t have to do it alone.

We’ve got your back.

At IT Geeks, we help businesses stay ahead of every shift in the digital commerce landscape. With a strong foundation in Shopify and the trusted badge of a Shopify Premier Partner, we’ve guided thousands of businesses through design, development, migration, and marketing; handling every challenge that comes our way.

Whether you're launching a new store, scaling an existing one, or navigating changes like AI-driven commerce, our in-house team of Shopify experts is here to help you turn disruption into opportunity.

Let’s build what’s next, together.