OpenAI significantly upgrades ChatGPT's "AI Shopping Assistant" for Black Friday

1. Why "AI Shopping Assistant" Now?

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming established as major sales events not only in the United States but also on Japanese e-commerce sites and electronics retailers.

However, as sale information becomes more complex each year, it is increasingly difficult to determine "what is truly a good deal" and "whether it suits one's needs."

・A large number of appliances with similar specs are lined up, making it hard to tell the differences
・Online reviews are mixed, leaving you unsure of which to trust
・Too busy to compare specs of each item one by one

To reduce the stress caused by this "abundance of information" and to delegate the "choosing" part to AI, this trend is rapidly accelerating worldwide. Ahead of the 2025 holiday season, OpenAI has enhanced ChatGPT's shopping features to meet this demand.Vogue+1

2. Overview of the Latest Upgrade

2-1. What is "Shopping Research"?

According to articles from IBTimes/TechTimes, OpenAI has introduced an upgraded version that combines the existing shopping assistant with an additional feature called "Shopping Research."International Business Times Australia

Key points are as follows:

• Instead of merely listing "product candidates,"

  • Organizing conditions

  • Comparing candidates

  • Organizing pros and cons
    to create a "shopping guide."OpenAI
    
    

• In addition to the conditions input by the user,

  • additional questions (budget, purpose, preferred size/design, etc.)

  • Estimating preferences from past conversations and memory
    to narrow down products that meet the needs.International Business Times Australia+1
    
    

• The information source is designed to crawl mainly "high-quality sites," "reviews," "price information," and other reliable pages.OpenAI

2-2. Supported Plans and Availability

According to the official OpenAI blog, Shopping Research is provided as follows:OpenAI+1

• Supported Plans:

  • Free

  • Go

  • Plus

  • Pro
    
    

• Supported Environments:

  • ChatGPT Mobile App

  • Web Version of ChatGPT
    
    

• Usage Restrictions:

  • "Almost unlimited" during the holiday season

This means that Japanese users can benefit from this feature without any additional charges if they are logged into ChatGPT (Plus and Pro require separate subscription fees).

3. What's Changed? Differences from the Previous Shopping Features

As of spring 2025, OpenAI was already offering a shopping assistant feature that allowed users to "consult about shopping."facebook.com

The key changes in this upgrade can be summarized into the following three points:International Business Times Australia+1

3-1. From "Search and Display" to "Research and Summarize"

Old Feature:

• User asks, "Recommend something for ◯◯"

• Multiple suitable products are suggested

New Feature:

• First, organize usage, budget, and priority points through conversation

• Conduct in-depth research on online information

• Organize candidates that meet the conditions in a comparison table or bullet points and introduce them in a way that is close to "in order of suitability for you"

In a way, AI takes over the "opening 10-20 tabs to compare" task that users used to do with search engines.TechRadar+1

3-2. Personalization Linked with ChatGPT's "Memory"

OpenAI explains that it utilizes ChatGPT's "memory" feature to apply users' preferences and past conversation content to shopping.OpenAI+1

For example:

• If you previously mentioned "I like gaming PCs" or "I prefer quiet appliances,"
  → When looking for a new laptop, it will prioritize gaming performance and quietness.

• If you have repeatedly mentioned "living alone" or "small one-room apartment,"
  → It will suggest compact and space-saving appliances.

For Japanese users, this experience means "you don't have to explain your preferences from scratch every time, and products are suggested with that understanding."

3-3. Research Focused on Reviews and Quality Information

The current Shopping Research is designed to not only look at specs and prices but also pay attention to reviews and quality-related information.International Business Times Australia+1

• Referencing reviews and testimonials across review sites and sales sites

• Trained to avoid unreliable or spammy sites

• Providing source links so users can verify themselves

This design is quite aligned with consumers' instincts of not wanting to "end up with a product that's cheap but breaks easily."

4. How to Use It? Practical Image for Japanese Users

Based on the official OpenAI blog and various media reports, let's imagine how Japanese users can actually use it.OpenAI+1

4-1. How to Launch

• Open the chat screen in ChatGPT as usual

• Enter a "shopping consultation" like "I want to find a 4K TV under 40,000 yen for Black Friday"

• A card or button like "Use Shopping Research" appears within the ChatGPT screen

• Enter the dedicated shopping interface from there

Alternatively, you can select "Shopping Research" from the "+" menu in ChatGPT.OpenAI

4-2. How the Conversation Progresses (Example)

Example:

"I want a quiet and energy-efficient washing machine for living alone. Tell me about models that are good deals on Black Friday."

The AI might return questions like the following:

• What is the upper limit of your budget?

• Are there any restrictions on installation space (width, depth, height)?

• Do you prefer a drum type or a vertical type?

• Is a drying function essential?

As the user answers, the AI searches for information online and narrows down the candidates.

• Manufacturer/Model Number

• Estimated Price

• Features (quietness, energy efficiency, size, etc.)

• Pros and Cons

• Reference Links (sales pages, review articles, etc.)