ChatGPT Shopping arrives: everything you need to know

This sector is in the midst of change. And if a few weeks ago we were talking about how AI is affecting SEO, now OpenAI has just launched ChatGPT Shopping, The new functionality is intended to transform the way we shop on the Internet. 

And you know what? It's in your interest, because from now on product search has become a UX experience so personalized and is a very interesting opportunity gap for you.

What is ChatGPT Shopping?

ChatGPT Shopping is a recent feature that converts product searches into personalized experiences through shopping questions. 

Stop browsing endless websites and adjust filters endlessly; now you can ask the assistant something like, “I'm looking for running shoes that cost no more than 100 euros” or “Which cell phone with a good camera do you recommend that costs less than 300 euros?”.

The system shows you a list of products that match what you are asking for and also includes prices, reviews, details and even photos. All this within the same chat, without the need to go anywhere else. 

What does this new feature offer?

The key factor of the purchases through ChatGPT is the integration of the shopping experience with a real and fluid conversation, providing advantages such as:

• Tailor-made suggestionsAdjust the proposals to your tastes, depending on how much you want to pay and exactly what you are looking for.
• Fluid dialogueWhile you talk, you can continue to ask questions, adjust your search, ask to compare alternatives or suggest new ones.
• Visual resultsProducts are displayed with photos, reviews, purchase links and clear descriptions.
• No adsProposals are not influenced by advertising agreements or paid positioning.
  

How does ChatGPT Shopping work for brands and ecommerce?

Although this functionality has been designed for the end user, brands must also take into account how to be present in this new ecosystem.. ChatGPT Shopping is powered by product feeds, clear tabs and well-crafted content.

For brands, this means that the more accessible, detailed and optimized the product sheet is, the more likely ChatGPT is to recommend them. Although for now there is no direct way of promotion like Google Shopping ads, it is possible to be positioned organically following good practices.

For example:

• An e-commerce that has clear product data sheets, quality images, verified reviews and competitive prices, it is more likely to appear as a recommendation.
• If the content is well written with a focus on how users ask (e.g., «small coffee maker for small kitchen» or «tablet to watch Netflix»), the AI will interpret it better.
• In addition, if the structured data are well processed, identification is facilitated.

For brands, this it is not enough just to sell products, but to be the chosen ones in an environment where the AI decides what to show and what not to show.

ChatGPT Shopping vs. Google Shopping: what's the difference?

Although Google Shopping has long been the most widely used product search engine, ChatGPT Shopping brings some important differences:

1. ConversationGoogle Shopping shows you fixed results; ChatGPT listens, responds and adjusts to you.
2. Tailor-made: While Google organizes results by advertising and SEO, ChatGPT looks at what matters to the user.
3. No ads: In Google many times the first thing you see are ads; in ChatGPT there is nothing paid.
4. You save time: it takes the work out of comparing between lots of options with complicated pages.

In a nutshell, it's like going from searching in an online store to having someone advising you in real time. 

How can we take advantage of it from Geotelecom?

From the point of view of agencies and digital marketing specialists, ChatGPT Shopping opens a new avenue for product positioning and visibility. Although for now there is no ad system as such, we can work this channel strategically.

Some ideas are:

• Optimize feeds and product sheetsThe more complete, clear and well-structured the descriptions and attributes are, the easier it will be for the AI to identify them as relevant.
• Adapt SEO to natural languagePutting ourselves in the user's shoes and thinking about how they ask the AI can help us to better focus our descriptions.
• Follow the evolution of OpenAIas this tool progresses, new forms of integration or presence for brands will be more likely to appear.
• Training and internal testingExperimenting with real cases and analyzing what kind of products appear and why.
  

At Geotelecom we are always on the lookout for this type of advances to anticipate trends and even more so now where AI is constantly including new developments in the sector. ChatGPT Shopping is not a replacement for Google, The company is committed to the development of a new layer of intelligence, personalization and efficiency in the online shopping process.