OpenAI Adds Visual Shopping to ChatGPT

OpenAI announced updates to ChatGPT on Tuesday that introduce visual shopping capabilities, allowing users to browse products, compare options and discover items through conversational queries. The enhancements, rolling out this week to all users on free, Go, Plus and Pro plans, mark a shift toward product discovery rather than direct in-app purchases, with merchants handling their own checkout processes.

The new features enable users to upload images of items, such as a shirt, and receive recommendations for similar products complete with photos, prices, ratings and side-by-side comparisons of features like fabric and fit. Previously, such requests yielded general text advice on styles or brands. Now, ChatGPT displays specific products in image tiles and comparison tables, refining suggestions based on follow-up questions. This aims to streamline shopping into a single interface, reducing the need to switch between apps or websites.

At the core of these updates is the Agentic Commerce Protocol, or ACP, an open standard co-developed by OpenAI and Stripe. ACP allows merchants to integrate their product catalogs, promotions and inventory data directly into ChatGPT, supporting...