OpenAI has added a powerful new feature to ChatGPT: a shopping research tool that helps users discover and compare products through conversation. The tool is now available to all logged-in users across Free, Go, Plus, and Pro plans on both mobile and web platforms. And for the holiday season, OpenAI is offering nearly unlimited access to this shopping feature, so more individuals can test it out.

What Is the Shopping Research Feature?

Rather than typing a simple product search into a browser, users can now talk to ChatGPT like a personal shopping assistant. The new feature asks clarifying questions: What’s your budget? Who is the gift for? What features matter most? Based on your answers, it finds products, compares options, and helps you refine your preferences.

Under the hood, ChatGPT’s shopping research tool gathers data from reliable sources on the internet, including current prices, reviews, product specifications, and images. It then shows you recommendations in a visual interface, where you can browse, filter, and say what you like or don’t like (“Not interested” / “More like this”). After a few minutes, the system gives you a tailored buyer’s guide showing top picks, trade-offs, and up-to-date information. You can click on any product to visit the retailer’s website.

OpenAI also plans to let users buy directly through ChatGPT from merchants that support Instant Checkout.

What Makes This Feature Different

Unlike regular search engines that just show links, ChatGPT’s shopping research helps users make better choices. It works especially well in detailed categories such as electronics, beauty, home & garden, kitchen appliances, and sports gear. Areas where many product options exist and the right pick depends on small but important differences.

By asking questions and learning what you care about, the system makes smarter suggestions. If you change your mind or want to tweak your preferences (for example, shifting from affordable to premium), the interface lets you fine-tune the results. This interactive style makes it feel like you are working with a real human assistant, not just hitting Google or Amazon.

Also know: How Do You Create a Custom GPT in ChatGPT

How It Works

The shopping feature runs on a special version of GPT-5 mini, trained for shopping tasks using a method called reinforcement learning. OpenAI’s internal tests show that this shopping-focused model achieves 64% product accuracy, compared with 52% for GPT‑5-Thinking, 56% for GPT‑5-Thinking-mini, and just 37% for ChatGPT Search. These results suggest that the new tool is significantly better at understanding what users want when shopping online.

If users enable memory, the system can remember past chats to provide more personalized recommendations. For instance, if a user previously asked about headphones, ChatGPT might factor that preference into future suggestions.

OpenAI emphasizes that user chats are not shared with retailers. Recommendations are generated organically from publicly available retail sites, not sponsored links or paid promotions. The company also notes that the system is not perfect and can occasionally provide incorrect details about prices or availability, which may change quickly.

This update could change how people shop online. Instead of switching between websites, reading reviews, and trying to compare specs on different tabs, users can do everything within ChatGPT. For many, this means less time wasted, fewer bad purchases, and more confidence in what they choose. And for OpenAI, it is a step toward integrating more real-world utility into conversational AI.