OpenAI has announced a new shopping experience within its ChatGPT platform, which will focus on product discovery, making it easier for shoppers to search, find and compare products using visual and description cues.

The new feature update comes after OpenAI moved away from pushing its Instant Checkout capabilities, which allowed users to purchase items from retailers without leaving its AI platform.

Having launched Instant Checkout in September last year, OpenAI has now discontinued the feature after slow uptake. Instead it redirects users to retailers’ own channels to complete their purchases.

The new ChatGPT experience will allow shoppers to discover products by uploading images or describing items, as well as filtering by key search terms including budget and preferences.

The new feature will also see ChatGPT serving more visual search results, helping shoppers easily compare and contrast products, as well as displaying recommendations side-by-side to improve user experience.

It said the new experience would “turn shopping from a fragmented, time-consuming process into a single, seamless experience,” for consumers, while bringing retailers and brands closer to high-intent purchasers at the point buying decisions are made.