The new AI shopping assistant and how to adapt your product catalog to it?
Artificial intelligence tools continue to change the way people search, compare, and choose products. In November 2025, ChatGPT introduced a new feature, Shopping Research, which acts as a personal shopping assistant – it searches for products, compares parameters, checks reviews, and creates multiple recommendations based on the user's needs.
This also fundamentally changes the principles of e-commerce and brand visibility.
If until now brands focused on SEO, social networks and advertising, then A new channel is currently emerging – AI recommendations, where brands want to appear first.
In this article, we explain how ChatGPT Shopping Research works, why it's important for brands, and provide a practical checklist that you can implement immediately.
Photo: The Verge
What is ChatGPT Shopping Research and how does it work?
Shopping Research is a tool that allows the user to describe what they want to buy and activate search mode.
For example:
“I want to buy natural tea grown in Latvia for under €10.”
Next, the AI performs several steps:
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scans websites, product catalogs, reviews, comparative articles;
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evaluates parameters (price, composition, quality, availability);
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requests additional questions to clarify the budget and selection criteria;
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creates a personalized list of recommendations with justification.
Why is this feature important for brands?
As people increasingly use AI as their primary information search tool, Shopping Research is becoming a new channel of awareness.
If a product is not findable or structured in a way that is understandable to AI systems, it simply will not appear in recommendations.
So – brands need to make their products AI-friendly, not just SEO-friendly.
In the world, this phenomenon is already called: Agentic Commerce, or an e-commerce environment run by AI agents that select products on behalf of the user.
Brands that adapt first will gain an advantage.
How does ChatGPT choose which products to show?
The industry publicly confirms that Shopping Research uses:
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product catalogs,
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e-commerce platform feeds,
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review sites,
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blogs and media articles,
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price comparators,
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structured data (schema.org/Product),
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reviews and social proof.
This means that visibility is directly dependent on the data that the brand assigns to the product.
What should brands do to appear in ChatGPT Shopping Research results?
1. Provide complete product information
AI works only with data, so product information must be complete:
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name
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price
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parameter / composition
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dimensions / weight
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pictures
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availability
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description with context
Missing information = risk of not being recommended.
2. Use structured data (schema.org/Product)
This is one of the most important points.
AI understands and compares products more easily when they are accompanied by structured metadata:
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price
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currency
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availability status
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product category
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manufacturer
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reviews
3. Update product data regularly
AI recommendations are based on current information.
An incorrect price, a sold-out product, or a poor-quality image can send a negative signal.
The more frequently the data is updated, the more accurately Shopping Research is able to recommend a product.
4. Write descriptions for a human, but with clear attributes for AI
Descriptions must be:
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clear,
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specific,
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with references to usage situations,
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without exaggeration.
AI looks for connections between user needs and product functions, so it is important to specify:
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who the product is intended for;
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what it solves;
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who is it suitable for;
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what are the special advantages.
5. Collect feedback (testimonials, ratings, reviews)
AI prefers products that have:
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more reviews,
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better rating,
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detailed experiences from customers.
It is used as a signal of trust.
6. Optimize page loading speed and SEO basics
The technical performance of a page also affects how well it can be interpreted by AI.
Slow or unstructured pages tend to be skipped by Shopping Research.
7. Publish product information to external sources
ChatGPT uses more than just your website.
AI scans:
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blogs,
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review pages,
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price comparators,
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media articles,
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thematic portals.
The more sources mention your product, the greater the signal of credibility.
Photo: Analytics Vidhya
AI shopping is no longer the future – it is a reality that is happening today
Brands that start customizing their products today will be the first ones recommended to shoppers by ChatGPT and other AI tools in the coming months.
This is the moment to take a step forward.
Stay tuned and follow the news. We will continue to share AI trends, tools, and recommendations for entrepreneurs on the SISTERING website.
