OpenAI, the artificial intelligence research and deployment company, has incorporated product recommendation features into its ChatGPT platform's search experience, according to a company update dated April 28, 2025.
When users input queries demonstrating purchasing intent such as seeking gift suggestions or comparing product categories within specific price ranges, ChatGPT may now display relevant product listings alongside its generated responses.
OpenAI asserts that these product results are selected algorithmically based on relevance and are distinct from paid advertising placements. The company stated that product results are chosen "independently."
To facilitate the discovery of products, OpenAI utilizes a proprietary web crawler, identified as
OAI-SearchBot. Websites and online merchants aiming to have their products potentially surface in ChatGPT results must ensure their site configurations do not block this specific crawler. This may necessitate adjustments to a website's robots.txt file, a standard protocol used to communicate with web crawlers.Crucially, OpenAI distinguishes the function of OAI-SearchBot from its data collection for model training. The company clarified that OAI-SearchBot is employed exclusively for indexing web content to support search features and link generation within ChatGPT, not for gathering data to train its underlying generative AI models.
For businesses tracking website traffic, referrals originating from ChatGPT search results will automatically include the UTM parameter utm_source=chatgpt.com in the referral URL. This standard allows website administrators using analytics platforms, such as Google Analytics, to identify and measure traffic driven by ChatGPT.
Looking ahead, OpenAI is exploring the development of a system to allow merchants to submit structured product data feeds directly. This initiative aims to improve the accuracy and timeliness of product information presented within ChatGPT. The company has established an interest form for merchants wishing to be notified when this feed submission capability becomes available.
This move signals ChatGPT's expanding role beyond conversational AI into areas traditionally dominated by search engines and e-commerce platforms, potentially altering how consumers discover and interact with products online. The effectiveness and user adoption of this feature remain to be seen.
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