Innovation of the Week: OpenAI launches ChatGPT agent that can order online grocery shops

What is it?

OpenAI has launched a new agent for ChatGPT that can complete “complex online tasks” on behalf of users, including placing orders with online grocery stores while following meal plans or other requests. 

For example, shoppers could ask the ChatGPT to “plan and buy ingredients to make Japanese breakfast for four” and the agent will navigate websites, filter the results, add them to baskets and prompt users when they’re required to sign in to their online shopping accounts. 

OpenAI said in a statement: “ChatGPT carries out these tasks using its own virtual computer, fluidly shifting between reasoning and action to handle complex workflows from start to finish, all based on your instructions.

“Most importantly, you’re always in control. ChatGPT requests permission before taking actions of consequence, and you can easily interrupt, take over the browser, or stop tasks at any point.

“Pro, Plus, and Team users can activate ChatGPT’s new agentic capabilities directly through the tools dropdown from the composer by selecting ‘agent mode’ at any point in any conversation.”

Why does it matter?

This agent represents a new channel for online shopping that has the potential to become incredibly disruptive, overriding typical customer behaviours like brand loyalty, the transfer of data and insights as well as creating a middleman “shopping assistant”, distancing the relationship between retailers and their customers. 

The agent can instantly compare prices across every retailer and identify the cheapest option, eliminating retailers’ ability to maintain price premiums through marketing or convenience and forcing them to compete on price even more. 

If shoppers use ChatGPT to do their shopping, retailers also stand to lose crucial data about browsing behaviour. It has the potential to weaken retailers’ A/B tests, their view of other considerations that customers could potentially be making and it makes the overall shopper journey harder to understand. 

Strategic implications 

Retailers will need to assess if their websites are AI friendly and able to correctly accommodate a new swathe of shoppers who are AI-first. They’ll need to make sure they’re optimised for AI, transparent with pricing and their product descriptions are accurate and discoverable. 

AI-agents will ruthlessly optimise their results for price, speed and availability, so operational excellence will be key for this new channel, as retailers will not be able to hide behind marketing or customer habit. 

Winning strategies

• AI for productivity

• Focus on operational efficiency