OpenAI’s shopping push poses new threat to retail media amid retail headwinds

The budding rivalries: OpenAI’s latest shopping capability in ChatGPT is creating friction across the digital landscape.

• The tool lets users compare products and click directly to purchase, pitting ChatGPT against product review sites like Wirecutter, as well as search engines like Google and Bing—and, for now, OpenAI isn’t taking affiliate fees, according to Bloomberg.
• Looking ahead, OpenAI is also reportedly developing a fully native checkout flow, which could further siphon product-search traffic from search engines and chip away at retailers’ high-margin, fast-growing media businesses.