By Deborah Nnamdi
OpenAI revealed Monday that ChatGPT can now assist users with online shopping, stepping up its competition with Google as the search giant faces mounting regulatory scrutiny over its market dominance.
This new feature brings AI chatbots even closer to functioning like traditional search engines, underlining OpenAI’s broader ambitions to rival Google in a space it has long commanded.
“Search has become one of our most popular and fastest-growing features, with over 1 billion web searches just in the past week,” the San Francisco-based company shared in a post on X.
Launched on Monday, the update enables users to search for and compare products through conversational prompts and then link directly to merchants to make purchases.
“Instead of scrolling through pages of results, you can simply start a conversation,” OpenAI explained, noting users can also refine searches or request comparisons.
Initially, the shopping tool targets fashion, beauty, and home electronics. OpenAI emphasized that product suggestions are pulled from the web and are not paid advertisements.
In response to the growing influence of AI-driven search, Google has embedded its Gemini assistant into results, offering AI-powered summaries above conventional links.
Tensions between the tech giants escalated further last week when an OpenAI executive stated the company might consider acquiring Chrome if U.S. regulators require Google to divest the browser.
