OpenAI launches free AI shopping tool in ChatGPT to help users build personalised holiday gift guides
The AI works best for detail-heavy categories such as electronics, beauty, home and garden, kitchen appliances, and outdoor items.
- Nov 25, 2025,
- Updated Nov 25, 2025 4:31 PM IST
OpenAI has rolled out a new AI shopping tool for ChatGPT users in the US, designed to create personalised buyers’ guides just in time for the holiday season. The tool is free for all users, across both free and paid plans, until January, as reported by Bloomberg.
Unlike regular ChatGPT chats, the shopping tool asks clarifying questions before suggesting products. It considers factors like budget, colour preferences, and item size, offering 10 to 15 options at a time. Users can refine the list by selecting “more like this” or “not interested.”
“Generally a lot of reviews on Reddit are pretty trustworthy,” said Manuka Stratta, an OpenAI researcher. “So we train the model to really pay attention and index more online sources with organic content as opposed to paid marketing.”
Isa Fulford, who leads OpenAI’s shopping research team, admitted the tool has limitations. “Teaching the model to be critical in identifying objective, unpaid, or real user reviews has been a ‘pretty hard task.’ It’s impossible to get it 100% correct,” she said.
The AI works best for detail-heavy categories such as electronics, beauty, home and garden, kitchen appliances, and outdoor items. For simpler questions like checking prices or hardware specifications, OpenAI recommends using regular ChatGPT. The company also cautions users to check merchant sites for the most accurate details, as the tool “might make mistakes about product details” like price and availability.
The tool gathers reviews from across the web, citing links without prioritising specific websites or tracking sales. It is separate from ChatGPT’s in-chat checkout option powered by Stripe, available for US users buying from select Etsy and Shopify merchants.
The shopping feature can be accessed via a dedicated “shopping research” button. Users can type prompts like “find a small couch for a studio apartment” or “I need a gift for my four-year-old niece who loves art” to start.
OpenAI’s move comes as competition in the AI shopping space heats up, with rivals like Perplexity AI also aiming to integrate AI into consumers’ buying decisions, opening new opportunities for revenue.
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OpenAI has rolled out a new AI shopping tool for ChatGPT users in the US, designed to create personalised buyers’ guides just in time for the holiday season. The tool is free for all users, across both free and paid plans, until January, as reported by Bloomberg.
Unlike regular ChatGPT chats, the shopping tool asks clarifying questions before suggesting products. It considers factors like budget, colour preferences, and item size, offering 10 to 15 options at a time. Users can refine the list by selecting “more like this” or “not interested.”
“Generally a lot of reviews on Reddit are pretty trustworthy,” said Manuka Stratta, an OpenAI researcher. “So we train the model to really pay attention and index more online sources with organic content as opposed to paid marketing.”
Isa Fulford, who leads OpenAI’s shopping research team, admitted the tool has limitations. “Teaching the model to be critical in identifying objective, unpaid, or real user reviews has been a ‘pretty hard task.’ It’s impossible to get it 100% correct,” she said.
The AI works best for detail-heavy categories such as electronics, beauty, home and garden, kitchen appliances, and outdoor items. For simpler questions like checking prices or hardware specifications, OpenAI recommends using regular ChatGPT. The company also cautions users to check merchant sites for the most accurate details, as the tool “might make mistakes about product details” like price and availability.
The tool gathers reviews from across the web, citing links without prioritising specific websites or tracking sales. It is separate from ChatGPT’s in-chat checkout option powered by Stripe, available for US users buying from select Etsy and Shopify merchants.
The shopping feature can be accessed via a dedicated “shopping research” button. Users can type prompts like “find a small couch for a studio apartment” or “I need a gift for my four-year-old niece who loves art” to start.
OpenAI’s move comes as competition in the AI shopping space heats up, with rivals like Perplexity AI also aiming to integrate AI into consumers’ buying decisions, opening new opportunities for revenue.
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