Experiment: Perplexity vs ChatGPT – which chatbot helps you shop better?
With few AI chatbots offering quicker buying options, some sellers worry that it may affect their visibility. But is it really something they should worry about? In Cybernew’s experiment, Perplexity and ChatGPT instant checkout left me with two empty carts.
Artificial intelligence assistance has been employed by many to help with various tasks related to research, content creation, editing, and more.
With time, AI companies started integrating more features into their chatbots, making it easier for users to search for information.
One such feature example is OpenAI’s recently released Instant Checkout, which allows users to buy items straight via ChatGPT’s chatbox.
While this is a novelty for OpenAI’s users, a similar feature, “Buy with Pro,” was first introduced by Perplexity AI in 2024.
I have to admit that I first heard of a fast checkout option powered by AI from my colleague, who told me that it’s capable of generating a whole shopping basket within 10 minutes, according to your preferences.
This got my attention because of how fast it can find you things. For me, it takes days, or even weeks, to find something that I like. Perhaps that’s because I try not to buy items from fast fashion stores, being a big fan of thrift stores and second-hand websites such as Vestiare Collective or Vinted.
Of course, I’ve already tried some of the AI platforms specifically designed to find secondhand goods, however, they didn’t help me much.
So, I thought of giving ChatGPT and Perplexity a try to see if their express checkout feature would lure me into ordering something.
ChatGPT Instant Checkout vs. Perplexity Buy with Pro availability
Users should keep in mind that there are slight differences when it comes to getting to try the feature.
When OpenAI introduced the instant checkout feature, it made it available for users of all tiers, but with one limit: you have to be located in the US.
Meanwhile, Perplexity's "Buy with Pro” is not limited to US users, but it requires a Perplexity Pro subscription, which costs $20 a month or $200 a year.
For those who want to try Perplexity but don’t want to spend money on the AI chatbot, the company released an offer that allows PayPal and Venmo users to get a free 12-month subscription to Perplexity’s Pro tier.
I, too, decided to take up this offer and can attest that it works.
ChatGPT Instant Checkout vs Perplexity Buy with Pro: summoning the quick checkout
One of the items I’ve been thinking of getting recently is a running vest. So I thought, I’d ask both ChatGPT and Perplexity to find me one, hoping that it would lead me to the much-advertised one-click purchase.
However, I wasn’t able to summon the checkout, even though the start looked quite promising. I asked both Perplexity and ChatGPT to find me a running vest, size from XS to S, with my budget being 100€. I also added that I would prefer the vest to be purple.
When it comes to the search query itself, I’ve noticed that ChatGPT provided me with much clearer suggestions, also taking into account my additional notes, such as asking for a vest made from eco-friendly materials or finding me one from a second-hand retailer.
After each query, ChatGPT would also ask me additional questions that would help me make a decision or look for another option.
Meanwhile, the first answer generated by Perplexity wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, as it provided me with a regular vest. Once I specified what I was looking for, it offered a few options, however, the chatbot didn’t ask any additional questions that would prompt further conversation.
Even though I was trying to make both chatbots lead me to the instant checkout, I wasn’t successful, and there could be a few reasons why.
While I’m not located in the US, I used a VPN for the chatbots to show me search results in the US. With Perplexity, I made sure that I’m on the right tier to be able to use the “Buy With Pro” feature, however, with ChatGPT, I missed the requirement of having to sign up to be able to use “Instant Checkout.”
After logging in to ChatGPT and thinking that this would be my ticket to trying its latest feature, the chatbot didn’t want to let go of suggesting European retailers since I asked to find a vest that would cost under 100 euros and not dollars.
Finally, I realised that the item I’m looking for is pretty specific and not often found on places like Etsy.
While OpenAI says that more merchants from Etsy and Shopify are going to be available through the chatbot, the integration of this feature, perhaps, isn’t that popular among sellers.
Could AI chatbots help sell better?
For buyers, this somewhat new feature has its advantages. It helps save time, find better deals, and even new brands.
Nevertheless, it also changes the way merchants sell their products.
One user online started a discussion, asking how merchants in the US feel about the integration of the new feature.
“Personally, I feel like this is step one for charging for ads and recommendations(while our Google searches are dropping). At the same time, I feel we might miss out. Practically, I don't even know how to get the product feed ready for it,” wrote the user.
“think about this angle, the threat isn’t chatgpt, the threat is your product being invisible no matter the platform. google, facebook, tiktok, now AI,” shared one Redditor.
More users agreed that AI chatbots shouldn’t be seen as a threat.
“OpenAI doesn't have the market share to make this a really big thing for most merchants BUT Google does, and Google is doing something very similar with PayPal,” noted another user.
OpenAI just enabled Instant Checkout on ChatGPT, with Shopify merchants next. I don't know how to feel about it.
byu/Fun-Director-3061 inshopify
When OpenAI introduced the feature, it shared that the answers would include items that are rated according to relevance and their availability for Instant Checkout.
Some users also pointed out that the new feature isn’t something that will generate much hype, since the primary reason why people use chatbots is to get information about “their personal development, relationship advice, office politics.”
So for the time being, chatbots might be used more to give advice on everyday related issues rather than serve as a retailer.
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