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Tom’s Guide
Tom’s Guide
Technology
Amanda Caswell

ChatGPT just announced a major update with new shopping features — what you can do now

OpenAI logo with ChatGPT on phone.

OpenAI is rolling out several new updates to ChatGPT today, focused on improving its search capabilities and introducing a new shopping experience directly within the chatbot.

Starting today, users across all tiers (Free, Plus, and Pro) can access these improvements in GPT-4o, with features available in every market where ChatGPT is supported. Here's a closer look at what's changing.

ChatGPT's shopping upgrade

(Image credit: OpenAI)

One of the biggest updates in this new launch is OpenAI's introduction of a shopping experience within ChatGPT.

Users can now search for products, compare options, view visual product details, and receive personalized recommendations. Pricing information, reviews and direct links to purchase are also integrated into each search result.

Right now, OpenAI is placing an emphasis on just a few categories, including tech, home goods, fashion and beauty, with plans to expand as the company learns what users are searching for most.

Still in the early stages of integration, commerce inside ChatGPT will be a work in progress and OpenAI notes that it will continue improving the integration with merchants and iterating the experience based on user feedback.

Other new ChatGPT features rolling out

(Image credit: OpenAI)

In addition to shopping, OpenAI is introducing several other enhancements to ChatGPT including:

Search in WhatsApp: Users can now send a WhatsApp message to ChatGPT to get real-time answers. The feature is accessible to everyone where ChatGPT is available.

Trending searches and autocomplete: Real-time search suggestions and autocomplete have been added, helping users complete their queries faster and discover popular search topics.

Improved citations: ChatGPT can now display multiple citations for a single answer, allowing users to verify information across multiple sources. A new "highlight" feature also makes it easier to see which parts of an answer are tied to which source.

Memory integration is coming soon

(Image credit: OpenAI)

OpenAI also announced that memory, a feature that allows ChatGPT to remember details from past conversations, will soon integrate with search and shopping. This feature appears to be a direct competitor to Google’s Personalized Search feature.

With this integration, now ChatGPT could use previous context to deliver more personalized search results or shopping suggestions. Users will continue to have full control over memory settings and can update or clear memory at any time.

Memory integration with search and shopping is expected to roll out within the next few weeks for Plus and Pro users, except in the EEA, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein.

How to share feedback with OpenAI

If you've ever had an idea, comment, or want to report an issue regarding ChatGPT, you can share your thoughts with ChatGPT by going to the ChatGPT interface and looking for the Feedback option.

From there, click on it and share your feedback within the message box. Be sure to be as specific as possible with whatever it is you like, dislike or suggestion you have for improving the chatbot. Once you submit your feedback, do not expect to be contacted as OpenAI has millions of users.

Because OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman is so active on X (formally Twitter) and often responds to users within the platform, you could also try sharing your feedback there. It is also a good opportunity to hear what other users are saying.

Bottom line

With search quickly becoming one of ChatGPT’s fastest-growing features, with more than one billion web searches conducted last week alone (according to OpenAI) the company says it will continue to iterate on both search and shopping based on real-world user feedback.

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