Tags: product discovery

OpenAI announced it will de‑prioritize the Instant Checkout feature that let users purchase items directly within ChatGPT. Launched in September, the checkout tool failed to attract significant use, prompting the company to pivot toward enhancing product discovery and detailed consumer information. Merchants can still integrate their own checkout experiences through apps in the chatbot, while OpenAI develops its Agentic Commerce Protocol with Stripe to serve as a centralized hub for product research. Read more

Perplexity Shopping, an AI‑powered shopping assistant built into the Perplexity AI platform, helps users locate and purchase items through natural‑language queries. Launched in 2024 by founders Aravind Srinivas, Denis Yarats, Johnny Ho, and Andy Konwinski, the tool provides product suggestions, price comparisons, reviews, images, and a Snap to Shop feature that matches uploaded photos to online listings. It operates on a free tier and a Pro tier priced at $20 a month, the latter unlocking advanced models, one‑click purchasing, and order tracking. While praised for convenience and personalized recommendations, the service still faces limitations such as incomplete retailer coverage and certain features locked behind the paid subscription. Read more

Amazon has introduced Lens Live, a new feature for its Shopping app on iOS that lets users point their phone camera at objects and instantly see matching product listings. Using real‑time object detection, Lens Live scans the environment, compares identified items against Amazon’s catalog, and presents similar products in a swipeable carousel with options to add to the cart or wishlist. The tool also integrates Amazon’s AI assistant Rufus to summarize descriptions and answer questions. Amazon says the feature builds on its existing visual‑search capabilities and will roll out to more customers in the coming weeks. Read more