Want better recommendations? See how role-play prompts and specifics change the results. Photo / 123RF
I found myself a personal shopper – and it’s ChatGPT.
I admit it hadn’t occurred to me to use an AI platform to shop until a friend told me she successfully deployed ChatGPT to find her the best basic white T-shirt. But it’s a growing trend as consumers turn to these tools – such as Gemini, Perplexity and Claude – to ease everyday tasks.
Traffic from these platforms to retail sites during July sales events surged 4700% year-over-year, according to Adobe Analytics. Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights, expects a 515 to 550% increase during the holidays this year compared with the same period in 2024.
While visits that turn into purchases lag behind non-AI traffic sources, the gap is narrowing, Pandya said.
“People are looking to really ease their shopping journeys but also save money,” he said.
As opposed to searching on Google or on marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart and eBay, AI platforms can give you personalised suggestions based on highly detailed guidance. It can be helpful if you’re embarking on a new hobby or need the chatbot’s help to compare prices from different retailers. It’s also not cluttered with sponsored products.
Pandya said the origins of AI platforms’ data – reviews and discussions from across the web – may increase customers’ trust. The companies emphasise that advertisers can’t pay for their product to be featured in specific searches; instead, the algorithm decides. And they make no commission if a user buys the item on a retailer’s site.
These platforms are getting savvier, and retailers recognise this is the next phase of online shopping, said Melissa Minkow, global director of retail strategy at CI&T.
In late September, ChatGPT announced “Instant Checkout”, a partnership with Shopify and Etsy that lets users stay on those platforms to purchase items directly. (So far, the tool is available only with Etsy, and you can buy just one item at a time.) Perplexity rolled out a similar feature last year for its pro subscription, partnering with Shopify and major retailers including Best Buy and Target. Pro users also get free shipping when they buy on the platform. The companies get a small cut of the purchases made on their platforms.
The general caveats about AI also apply to shopping: prices and promotional codes might be outdated, and brands’ descriptions on products might confuse the chatbot – for example, a retailer could list a “wool coat” that’s mostly made of polyester. So don’t lose your caution.
To understand these new tools, we’ve created a guide to show how they make product recommendations – and how you can find the best deal.
If you’re feeling the urge to spend but don’t know on what, ChatGPT won’t be much help. It’s best to go into the search with an idea of what you’re looking for.
In my case, to get ready for the debut of crisp fall weather, I recently turned to ChatGPT to find a moisturiser to keep my skin hydrated. I started by telling the chatbot what I want.
For the purpose of this demo, I offered ChatGPT a relatively vague prompt and said I was new to skin care. (I admit that last part is a little fib – my bathroom cabinet would tell a different story.) But the chatbot still managed to send a few solid options, which, when clicked, would take me to the retail website selling the product.
Below the images were several more suggestions broken down by categories, including “good starter moisturisers” and “what experts recommend”. The latter included links to articles that mentioned the product. ChatGPT also included descriptions of each product and the benefits offered.
Since I didn’t give it much to work with, I followed Pandya’s tip to give the chatbot a bit of a personality. By assuming “a role,” he said, it “provides a lot of context to the model in understanding how thorough it needs to be” when coming up with recommendations.
ChatGPT proceeded to call me out for being too vague and listed questions for me to answer to help it narrow down the search: what my skin type and skin concerns are; when I’ll use the moisturiser; what my budget is; which ingredient or brand preference is important; what I prefer for texture and finish; and which climate or season mattered.
The more details you give about what you’re looking for, the more satisfied you’ll be with ChatGPT’s suggestions. So I answered the questions with as much detail as I could.
ChatGPT came back with a top suggestion and three alternatives, including explanations of why the product was the right fit:
- “Top pick”: La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer
- “Strong alternative”: CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion
- “Premium alternative”: EltaMD PM Restore Moisturizer
- “Honorable mention”: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Face Moisturizer
I appreciated ChatGPT’s brand selection. As someone who’s frequently served skin care content on social media, I know these brands are popular, reasonably priced and good for sensitive skin. It also appeared the chatbot was consistent – CeraVe was the first suggestion to my initial vague prompt.
I must admit, however, that I had hoped for a bit more creativity from ChatGPT and perhaps more options that aren’t sold at drugstores. (If I’m being honest with myself, I also wanted an excuse to rack up more loyalty points from Sephora.) So I asked the chatbot to send me some options sold there.
This is where I caught it making a mistake: among the three suggestions was Cosrx, a Korean brand with a cult following. But when I clicked on the Sephora link, it came up empty. The product is no longer sold at Sephora.
The lesson: make sure you check ChatGPT’s work.
These days, inflation-battered consumers are more and more wary about spending on non-essentials. So use AI to help you price-check retailers and do the legwork for finding the best deal. ChatGPT can also give suggestions on strategies to shave down the cost, including subscribe-and-save options, cash-back plug-ins like Rakuten, promo codes, and coupons available with retailers’ loyalty programmes.
Specifics here help, too. Tell the chatbot what size you’re looking for and some parameters about shipping price or delivery times.
The options ChatGPT came up with are consistent with what I’ve seen across retailers. But remember that since prices fluctuate, you should click on the links yourself to see if things have changed since the last time ChatGPT scraped the internet. It’s worth noting that Google Shopping will do the same if you search for the product in the browser.
While you’ll need to fact-check the chatbot, it’s useful for comparing prices. This function could be particularly helpful during major sales events such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
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