OpenAI has announced major upgrades to ChatGPT's search capabilities, introducing a more seamless and personalized online shopping experience. This move is seen as part of the company's broader strategy to challenge the dominance of traditional search engines like Google. Personalized Product Recommendations Now Available Starting Monday, ChatGPT users can now search for products and receive personalized product recommendations. The chatbot will provide images, reviews, and direct purchase links for the recommended items. OpenAI stated that users can ask "super-specific questions in natural language" and receive customized results tailored to their needs. To begin with, the shopping feature will cover categories such as fashion, beauty, home goods, and electronics. OpenAI plans to expand to additional categories over time. The feature is rolling out in the default GPT-4o model. It will be accessible to ChatGPT Pro, Plus, and Free users, including those who are not logged in, across all regions where ChatGPT is available. A Growing Challenge to Google’s Search Dominance The ChatGPT shopping update is part of OpenAI’s strategy to offer a "better, more personalized experience" compared to Google’s increasingly ad-heavy search results. Online shopping has been a core business for Google, but criticism over declining quality has opened a window for competitors. In fact, OpenAI revealed that users made more than 1 billion web searches in ChatGPT last week alone, highlighting the rapid growth and popularity of the platform’s search feature. OpenAI emphasized that shopping results are independently determined, relying on structured metadata from third-party sources like pricing, product descriptions, and reviews. Importantly, OpenAI assured that "ads are not part of this upgrade to ChatGPT search," and the company will not receive a kickback from purchases made via ChatGPT. Future Plans: Memory Integration for Personalized Shopping OpenAI also announced plans to integrate its memory feature with shopping for Pro and Plus users. This would allow ChatGPT to reference a user’s previous conversations to deliver even more personalized product suggestions. However, these memory-based shopping features will not be available to users in the EU, the U.K., Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein due to regulatory reasons. The company had earlier enabled memory-based personalization in general web searches, and this enhancement further deepens ChatGPT’s capability to act as a personal shopping assistant. Additional Enhancements to ChatGPT Search Alongside shopping, OpenAI has made several other updates to ChatGPT search: Now, when users start typing, ChatGPT will show trending queries, similar to Google Search’s autocomplete. ChatGPT will now provide multiple citations within a single response, helping users explore or verify information more effectively. A new highlight interface has been introduced, making it easier to see which parts of the answer each citation supports. Users can now message ChatGPT on WhatsApp at 1-800-ChatGPT (+1-800-242-8478) to receive up-to-date answers and even live sports scores. OpenAI mentioned that it wants to make "shopping simpler and faster to find, compare, and buy products in ChatGPT," a move that mirrors user experiences on platforms like Google Search but aims to be more personalized and less cluttered. Early Feedback and Rollout Observations As of now, the new shopping feature is gradually rolling out. Some early users have noted that while ChatGPT displayed product options, not all attached links were functional or accurate. For instance, one recommendation was linked to a news publication instead of a shopping site. However, functional links to platforms like Amazon India were observed. OpenAI acknowledged that updates may take a few days to propagate fully across all accounts. Users facing issues are encouraged to try again after some time. A Broader Vision for ChatGPT The shopping feature marks another step toward OpenAI’s ambition to make ChatGPT an "everything app"—combining a search engine, voice assistant, video generator, and now a shopping platform. By enhancing shopping, search, and communication capabilities, OpenAI is working to expand ChatGPT’s ecosystem. This effort helps the company stay ahead of rivals like Anthropic, Perplexity AI, Elon Musk’s xAI, and Google.