Perplexity enhances the AI-powered shopping experience this holiday season, as do OpenAI and Google with a free shopping feature powered by artificial intelligence which is now available to users in the US. Its AI assistant looks similar to what we’ve seen in ChatGPT’s shopping research, as users type in what they’re looking for and refine the results with follow-up questions. Featured products appear as cards with specifications and reviews, and users can purchase products directly through Perplexity from PayPal-enabled sellers.
If you ask for a jacket to wear on your way to work on the ferry across the bay to San Francisco, Perplexity says the chatbot will remember that past interaction to inform you of recommendations when you later ask for shoes. It’s available now on desktop and web, with mobile access via iOS and Android coming in the “coming weeks.”
Perplexity says its “Instant Shopping” partnership with PayPal allows sellers to stay in the retail circuit and build relationships with customers “just like they would on their own sites,” perhaps to address the issue Edge EIC Nilay Patel called it a “DoorDash problem.”
Perplexity’s announcement post highlights search bars that say “exploration gone wrong” and newsrooms that “prioritize affiliate revenue over matching readers to specific products they’ll like” (maybe you could take a look at our Black Friday guide and see how it works?). According to Perplexity, online shopping focuses on quick transactions rather than the “joy” of shopping. Instead, Perplexity says its AI assistants, also called agents by other companies, “understand intentions, remember preferences, and act as an extension of how users themselves approach a task.”