This morning, OpenAI announced the rollout of a new shopping capability in GPT-4o. This update brings even more power to the widely-adoring ChatGPT platform. This feature is available to all users. It’s rolling out to ChatGPT Pro and Plus subscribers, with the rollout expected for free users. Further, logged-out users must be able to use these features globally, which shows that OpenAI is committed to broadly deploying its technology.
Maxwell Zeff, a senior reporter at TechCrunch focused on AI and other emerging tech, explained just how important this upgrade is. One thing that San Francisco-based Zeff said stood out is key. The shopping results generated by ChatGPT are based on structured metadata provided by third-party companies. This metadata contains a trove of valuable information, including product prices, descriptions, and customer ratings. That gives you the power to choose more responsibly.
This is a big development, especially coming on the heels of an extraordinary week for ChatGPT. You know users executed more than a million web searches on that day alone! Retail opening this floodgate of activity, including a very noticeable uptick in commercial use, is evidenced by a wide-ranging boom in the commercial sector.
Originally, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had been against displaying ads inside ChatGPT. In a recent interview with Stratechery’s Ben Thompson, he made a surprising admission that he’d changed his mind. Altman, for his part, has expressed openness to including “tasteful” advertising in ChatGPT. He thinks monetization strategies, such as OpenAI receiving affiliate fees from purchases made using the AI-powered platform, are worth considering.
Most importantly, Altman assured lawmakers that OpenAI would never sell priority placement in search results. This tactic undercuts the value of the shopping feature. At the same time, it helps users make better choices—more relevant choices, less constrained by commercial interest.
Zeff’s analysis provides a substantial confirmation of this trend within the industry. So companies are rushing like never before to add sophisticated e-commerce capabilities to their digital operations. His previous reporting experience with reputable outlets such as Gizmodo, Bloomberg, and MSNBC provides him with a keen understanding of the intersection between technology and consumer behavior.