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Perplexity is launching a new AI-driven shopping feature designed to make online buying faster, smarter, and more personalized. The tool, free for all US users, builds on the company’s existing partnership with PayPal to streamline purchases directly through its AI assistant.
The feature allows users to ask highly specific product questions, such as “What’s the best winter jacket if I live in San Francisco and take a ferry to work?”
The AI can retain context from ongoing conversations, incorporating user preferences and lifestyle details to deliver tailored results. Products are presented in visually organized cards, highlighting pros and cons, reviews, and other relevant information for each item.
When a user finds a product they like, they can purchase it instantly through the assistant using PayPal. This “Instant Buy” functionality works with any merchant supporting PayPal, letting users complete purchases without leaving the chat interface. Despite this, Perplexity emphasizes that merchants retain control over the post-purchase experience, including returns, customer data, and loyalty programs.
Perplexity’s move mirrors similar developments in AI shopping. OpenAI recently introduced a “shopping research” feature in ChatGPT, while Google added product recommendation tools in AI Mode on Google Search. Like these platforms, Perplexity benefits from transaction fees when purchases are made through its assistant, aiming to offer a fully integrated shopping experience.
The company’s broader vision is to enable AI to handle end-to-end shopping without human intervention. However, this ambition has already faced obstacles. In early November, Perplexity received a cease-and-desist from Amazon after its Comet browser completed Amazon purchases on behalf of users.
Perplexity’s new shopping feature marks a step toward making AI a central tool in online retail, combining personalized recommendations, instant payments, and contextual awareness for a smoother buying experience.
