OpenAI (Creator of ChatGPT) has partnered with companies like Microsoft and Bing, and recently started integrating real-time web browsing and commercial data into ChatGPT, especially for users on ChatGPT Plus (GPT-4) and enterprise tiers.
Here’s what’s happening:
- ChatGPT with browsing enabled can now show up-to-date product listings, prices, and even affiliate-linked shopping results, particularly when powered by Bing Search.
This may look like shopping ads or listings, especially in queries similar to:
“Best running shoes under Rs.4500” or “buy electric kettle”
ChatGPT Shopping Shoes ExampleChatGPT Shopping Kettle Example
- Showing product recommendations or listings within ChatGPT.
- Using Bing’s shopping data to populate results with commercial intent (e.g., “best laptops under ₹50,000”).
- Potential monetization via affiliate links or shopping ads, though nothing has been officially launched yet as a native “shopping ad” platform.
OpenAI is moving toward commercial search features inside ChatGPT, but it’s still early and evolving.
Is it really “ads”?
- As of now, these aren’t paid ads in the traditional Google Ads sense.
- However, affiliate partnerships (e.g. via Microsoft/Bing) may be used, which could mean OpenAI gets a commission if a purchase is made through the link.
How to enable shopping experience for my product in chatGPT
OpenAI has recently introduced shopping features within ChatGPT, allowing users to discover and explore products directly through conversational prompts. While ChatGPT doesn’t process transactions, it provides product recommendations with images, reviews, pricing, and direct links to merchant websites for purchase.
How to List Your Products in ChatGPT Shopping
- Allow OpenAI’s Crawler to Access Your Site
Ensure that your website permits OpenAI’s crawler, OAI-SearchBot, to index your product pages. Update your robots.txt file with the following lines:
User-agent: OAI-SearchBot
Allow: /
This allows ChatGPT to discover and display your products in response to relevant user queries.
- Join the Merchant Early-Access List
OpenAI is developing a system for merchants to submit product feeds directly. To stay informed and be among the first to integrate:
Reference Link: https://openai.com/chatgpt/search-product-discovery/
- Fill out the interest form here: Help ChatGPT Discover Your Products
You’ll receive notifications when feed submissions open, allowing you to provide up-to-date product information directly to ChatGPT.
- Prepare and Optimize Your Product Feed
Even before direct submissions are available, it’s beneficial to organize your product data. Ensure your feed includes:
- Title: Clear and concise product names.
- Description: Informative details highlighting key features.
- Product Type: Accurate categorization for better discoverability.
- Product Highlights: Bullet points or short phrases emphasizing unique selling points.
- Pricing and Availability: Regularly updated to reflect current stock and prices.
Regularly updating this information ensures that ChatGPT presents accurate and appealing product listings to users.
- Monitor Traffic from ChatGPT
Once products are discoverable, track user engagement by monitoring referral traffic. ChatGPT adds a utm_source=chatgpt.com parameter to outbound links, which you can analyze using your website analytics tools to assess performance and conversions.
Additional Insights
- No Paid Ads: Currently, ChatGPT’s product recommendations are organic and not influenced by paid advertisements or sponsorships.
- User Experience: Users can interact with ChatGPT to receive personalized product suggestions, view images, read summaries of reviews, and access direct links to purchase pages.
- Future Developments: OpenAI is exploring partnerships with platforms like Shopify to streamline the shopping experience further, potentially allowing for more integrated e-commerce solutions within ChatGPT.
