In September, OpenAI launched the ability to shop directly within ChatGPT. The change began to trickle into user experiences in October, but that trickle has now turned into an open spigot, our research shows.
In both October and February, we used our GEO and AI marketing platform to ask ChatGPT a basket of over 200 prompts about the best deals and products for various types of consumer products (questions a shopper might ask), repeating each question to get statistical validity. We asked the exact same questions in both months.
In October, the shopping widget within ChatGPT - a special display that shows product images, prices and checkout options - appeared in just 8.3% of responses. By February, that number had catapulted to 87% of responses.
This was not a February phenomenon. We observed marked increases on our platform in the frequency of shopping experiences in December and January. But the contrast in results in October and February on the exact same questions highlight how much a shopper’s experience on ChatGPT has changed over the last five months.
In October, a shopping experience appeared in 20% or less of responses to all of our questions. In February, most questions launched a shopping experience in 90% or more of responses.
Shopping Experience Increasingly Frequent
Count of questions by % of responses with shopping experience
The Exceptions to Shopping Ubiquity
The near ubiquity of shopping experiences was consistent across almost all of our topic categories. In eight out of 11 categories, the share of responses that generated a shopping experience was greater than 90%, topping out at 99% for questions related to health and fitness products.
The exceptions were questions pertaining to luxury and lifestyle products, at 48%, and groceries and everyday needs, at 40%. However, both categories still saw massive increases from October, where they tallied 5% and 7%, respectively.
Share with Shopping Experience by Question Topic
Questions with the lowest rate of shopping experiences focused on vintage and secondhand goods, subscription services, or specialized options like gluten-free, fair-trade and cruelty-free products. These types of prompts were more prevalent in the “groceries & everyday needs” and “luxury & lifestyle” categories.
Some of the questions with the lowest rates of shopping experiences include:
- Best grocery delivery services for fresh produce
- Where to buy second-hand designer handbags
- Where to buy cruelty-free makeup online?
- Best affordable champagne alternatives
AI Options for Shoppers on the Rise
Our October sampling came before ChatGPT’s November release of Shopping Research. OpenAI described it as a virtual personal shopper that can advise based on your preferences, feedback and budget. In its announcement, the company noted, “Ask a shopping question and ChatGPT will suggest shopping research automatically.” Our February sampling suggests this integration has had a marked effect on the frequency of in-chat shopping opportunities.
Soon, ChatGPT will have competition for in-chat shopping experiences. Google announced in January that it is partnering with Walmart, Shopify, Wayfair and other retailers to provide shopping recommendations and instant checkout options within Gemini.
With in-chat shopping opportunities becoming more frequent - and more buyers taking their searches to AI chats - what AI models say about brands and their competitors becomes increasingly important. That means brands need to address models’ misperceptions about their products and ensure their brand is highly visible to the models.
Evertune is the AI marketing platform for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) that helps leading enterprise brands improve visibility in AI search by analyzing responses at scale and delivering actionable insights. With data-driven content creation and distribution strategies to increase AI discoverability, Evertune’s platform is purpose-built for AI search as a marketing channel. Founded by early team members of The Trade Desk and headquartered in New York City, Evertune has raised $20M in funding from leading adtech and martech investors.
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