The New AI Shopping Era: How Gemini, ChatGPT and Perplexity Are Redefining Retail
Explore how Gemini, ChatGPT & Perplexity AI are transforming online shopping with smarter, faster, and personal experiences.
Artificial intelligence has entered a decisive new era in retail - one where AI no longer simply supports product research but actively participates in the shopping journey. In 2025, three flagship platforms - Google Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity AI - launched capabilities that turn discovery, comparison, and even checkout into smooth, conversational experiences. Instead of navigating endless tabs, reviews, and product grids, consumers now articulate what they want in natural language and receive personalised, actionable results instantly. To help you navigate this fast‑moving landscape, this article breaks down the newest shopping features in Gemini, ChatGPT and Perplexity, offers real‑world prompt examples, and explores how AI agents will reshape the future of retail.
Google Gemini - Conversation, Automation & “Buy‑For‑Me”
Google Gemini has quickly become the most action‑driven AI shopping assistant, shifting from traditional search to tasks that previously required human effort.
Agentic Checkout
Google’s launch of agentic checkout represents the clearest example of AI taking direct action on a shopper’s behalf. As of late 2025, users can instruct Gemini to automatically purchase a product once specific conditions - such as price drops or restock events - are met. The purchase is then completed using Google Pay, making shopping less about waiting and more about delegation.
AI‑Powered Store Calling
Another standout feature is Gemini’s ability to call physical stores to check real‑world inventory. Using enhanced Duplex technology, Gemini verifies stock levels, confirms pricing, and summarises store responses. This feature bridges the gap between online search and offline retail, reducing friction during high‑demand seasons.
Conversational Search With Shopping Graph Intelligence
Gemini’s interpretive power comes from Google’s vast Shopping Graph, which maintains billions of updated product listings. Users can describe exactly what they want - “a cozy leather jacket under £150, dark green, size M” and Gemini returns curated products with rich detail, including images, availability, and shipping options. This natural language flexibility marks a major shift from the rigid keyword searches of traditional ecommerce.
From Browsing to Buying in One Flow
When combined, these capabilities turn Gemini into a full shopping agent. A single conversation can now lead from inspiration to inventory checking to automated purchasing - all without switching apps or opening retailer websites. It’s a seamless, modern, AI‑first buying experience.
In short: Google isn’t just helping you search - it’s helping you shop.
ChatGPT - Shopping Research, Personal Guidance & Soon: Checkout
ChatGPT has evolved rapidly from a Q&A engine into a high‑context shopping advisor that understands nuance, preferences, and personal constraints.
Shopping Research Mode
Introduced in November 2025, Shopping Research Mode offers curated, digestible buyer’s guides based on user queries. Whether the question is “What’s the quietest cordless vacuum for a small flat?” or “What’s a great gift for a 4‑year‑old art lover?”, ChatGPT pulls from product specs, expert reviews, user insights, and pricing to build a personalised overview. It’s available to free and paid users and supports heavy seasonal usage.
Contextual, Conversational Guidance
ChatGPT avoids product grids and instead guides users through a conversation. It asks clarifying questions “Is battery life or weight more important?” to refine selections. This makes the process feel personalised and intuitive, especially for users who dislike comparison shopping.
Checkout Coming Soon
While Shopping Research Mode doesn’t yet include in‑chat purchasing, OpenAI’s partnership with PayPal - via the new Agentic Commerce Protocol - means checkout is coming soon. Once live, ChatGPT will function as a complete pre‑purchase and purchase hub.
ChatGPT is evolving into a personalised advisor that brings clarity to complex buying decisions.
Perplexity AI - From Search to Instant Buy With Privacy‑First Design
Perplexity has taken a lighter, speed‑focused approach. It serves users who want fast answers, clean interfaces, and minimal noise.
AI-powered shopping assistant
In November 2025, Perplexity launched its own shopping assistant that can deliver product suggestions tailored to you. Perplexity’s AI-powered shopping assistant is designed for speed, clarity, and minimal friction, offering one of the cleanest end-to-end shopping experiences available today.
Shop with Perplexity: AI-Powered, Personal, Effortless
Instant Buy Checkout
Perplexity’s Instant Buy feature integrates PayPal directly into the chat interface. When a supported retailer appears in results, users can complete the purchase in seconds - no new tabs, no account creation, no complexity.
Conversational & Context‑Aware Discovery
Perplexity retains conversation context, allowing users to refine product needs fluidly. They might begin with “winter coat under £120” and then adjust to “make it waterproof, minimalist, with a hood,” and Perplexity responds with updated results instantly.
Curated Product Cards
Unlike traditional ecommerce search results cluttered with sponsored listings, Perplexity presents clean, digestible product cards with essential details only. This improves readability and speeds up comparisons.
End‑to‑End Flow
Perplexity now offers one of the fastest discovery‑to‑checkout experiences on the market, especially for US shoppers. The platform even highlights holiday deals and PayPal perks during peak seasons, further reducing friction.
Perplexity delivers an efficient, privacy‑forward shopping workflow built for speed.
Prompt Examples to Use While Shopping in LLMs (3 Quick Ones)
Product Discovery
“Help me find a lightweight laptop under £900 that is suitable for travel and offers long battery life.”
Visual Lookalike Search
“Find jackets similar to this photo, but waterproof and under £120.”
Deal Hunting
“Find today’s best deal on Nike Pegasus running shoes and tell me if any student or loyalty discounts apply.”
👉 Download the full AI Shopping Prompt Pack (10 categories + 30 examples)
How the Future Looks: AI Agents Will Transform Shopping
Personal AI Shopping Assistants
AI shopping agents will soon function like hyper‑personalised concierges. They will understand sizes, style preferences, past purchases, and lifestyle habits - allowing them to proactively curate items. Shopping will begin with a conversation, not a search bar.
Autonomous Buying and Deal Hunting
Automation will define the next decade of retail. AI agents will continuously monitor prices, compare specifications, scan reviews, and recognise sales cycles. When a product meets your criteria, the assistant will handle the purchase automatically.
AI‑Driven Retail Websites and In‑Store Experiences
Retailers will embed AI into their websites for instant product help, guided comparisons, and personalised bundles. In physical stores, AI‑powered augmented reality will overlay product data and guide shoppers directly to the right aisles.
Hyper‑Personalisation at Scale
Future AI agents will adjust to your mood, life events, travel plans, and even household inventory. This level of personalisation will feel bespoke, evolving with every interaction.
Seamless Online‑to‑Offline Journeys
AI will merge online research with in‑store shopping. Assistants will guide users to products in - store, highlight local alternatives, check availability, and coordinate pick‑up or return options.
New Commerce Standards and Infrastructure
To support these capabilities, new commerce protocols will emerge - enabling secure AI‑driven checkout, unified product data exchange, and integrations with frameworks like Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Protocol.
Final Words
Shopping has entered a new era defined by clarity, speed, and intelligence. The traditional cycle of opening countless tabs, comparing reviews, and hunting for deals is disappearing. Google enables automated purchasing and real‑world stock verification. ChatGPT offers deep, personalised buyer’s guidance. Perplexity provides fast, distraction‑free answers with in‑chat checkout.
Across all platforms, one theme is unmistakable: the future of shopping is conversational. Consumers simply describe what they want - AI handles the rest. The process becomes quicker, easier, and more elegant than ever before.