AI Technology Expands Capabilities: ChatGPT Now Offers Shopping and Slide Building as OpenAI Emphasizes Task Automation
OpenAI, the leading artificial intelligence (AI) research and deployment company, has announced the launch of ChatGPT Agent Mode. This new feature introduces advanced autonomous capabilities, transforming the chatbot into a multi-functional virtual assistant that can execute complex, multi-step tasks independently.
The AI-powered assistant can now perform tasks such as web browsing, file management, coding, scheduling, and data analysis without continuous user oversight. It can actively browse websites, interact with web interfaces, run code, and access APIs to produce deliverables like spreadsheets and presentations.
In the realm of e-commerce, OpenAI has integrated a built-in shopping and checkout experience directly within the ChatGPT interface. This collaboration with Shopify allows users to discover products through AI-driven personalized recommendations and complete purchases fully inside ChatGPT, effectively creating a standalone sales channel beyond traditional online stores.
OpenAI plans to monetize this new e-commerce feature by taking a commission on sales completed through ChatGPT's integrated checkout system. Previously, product listings could link users out to retailers, but the new system targets capturing the entire transaction on ChatGPT’s platform, marking a strategic shift from relying mainly on subscription revenues to earning from transactional sales commissions.
The new ChatGPT Agent Mode offers several benefits to users, including personalized AI recommendations, a seamless in-chat purchase experience, and the potential for improved shopping experiences over time. However, concerns around AI reliability, commercial influence, and consumer transparency have been raised, with questions about preferential listing of merchants or products.
Here's a summary of the new features and plans:
| Feature/Plan | Details | |--------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | ChatGPT Agent Mode | Autonomous task execution (web browsing, coding, file management, scheduling) | | E-commerce Shopping | Integrated product discovery and checkout inside ChatGPT in partnership with Shopify | | User Experience Impact | Personalized AI recommendations, seamless in-chat purchase without leaving ChatGPT | | Monetization Strategy | OpenAI plans to take a commission on sales made via ChatGPT’s checkout system |
The new ChatGPT Agent Mode is currently in progress and is not perfect, as stated by Kevin Weil, the Chief Product Officer. The shopping assistant feature has been available since at least April 2025, focusing on categories like fashion, beauty, and home electronics.
The move towards autonomous agents is not limited to OpenAI. Smaller players, including Microsoft, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, are also experimenting with agent frameworks designed to move AI from reactive chatbot to active assistant.
In addition to e-commerce capabilities, the OpenAI agent can draft emails, summarize research, and build rough presentation decks, aligning with productivity offerings from Microsoft. ChatGPT can now follow instructions, search for products, select items based on user preferences, and initiate online orders autonomously.
In an interview with Stratechery earlier this year, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, noted that affiliate-style commissions are on the table as a potential monetization strategy. OpenAI is carefully evaluating monetization models, with affiliate-style commissions on purchases made via tools like Deep Research being a potential option.
The expansion of ChatGPT's capabilities could reshape user interaction with online shopping, making AI an active intermediary in transactions rather than a passive information tool.
- ChatGPT Operator, similar to OpenAI Agent, has been observed to handle more complex tasks beyond just chat, such as email drafting, deep research, and even creating slideshow tools as part of AI task automation.
- As ChatGPT and OpenAI's shopping collaboration has grown, it has moved toward entrepreneurship and finance, introducing e-commerce functions that allow users to discover and purchase products directly within the platform.
- Small AI agent developers, including Microsoft, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind, are progressing beyond reactive chatbots and are striving to develop active assistants that can perform a range of business tasks, mirroring the advancements seen in OpenAI's ChatGPT Agent.
