Have you ever tried searching for a product with ChatGPT? It's about to go beyond simple information retrieval and go directly to the Generative AI from product search to payment. These changes can have a significant impact on the overall e-commerce practice, including consumer behavior, content strategy, and marketing transformation structure. In this session, we will look at the implications of ChatGPT's payment capabilities and what practitioners should prepare for now.

Generative AI, now I'm connecting to payment 💡

The Financial Times (FT) recently reported that OpenAI will introduce a feature that supports product search and payment within ChatGPT. In the past, it used to go through several stages of 'Enter search word → click → compare → purchase', but in the future, an environment where recommendations and payments are made at the same time with a single question can be opened. This is not just a feature addition, but a change that shows that Generative AI is evolving into a real shopping partner by directly intervening in user behavior.

Sources = ClipartKorea

Why OpenAI jumped into 'shopping' 🛒

So why does OpenAI pay attention to the shopping payment function? There are practical reasons behind this: financial pressure and securing a new revenue model. OpenAI reportedly lost billions of dollars last year due to huge server operating costs and labor costs. On top of that, the financial burden is increasing due to internal and external factors such as stake structure issues with MS and leakage of key talents. In this situation, GPT-based shopping becomes a new channel for direct revenue from free users. In particular, through partnerships with brands or distributors, you can even secure advertising exposure or payment commission income. In other words, it can be seen as a strategic shift from openAI to expanding its profit structure from technology companies to platform companies beyond simple functional expansion.

Sources = ClipartKorea

3 things e-commerce practitioners should pay attention to ☝️

① Keywords to questions: Criteria for exposure change
The key to traditional performance marketing was the keyword, but in the GPT environment, customer questions are the starting point for exposing advertisements and content. For example, rather than simply the keyword 'recommend learning shoes that are good for the summer', specific questions such as 'recommend breathable running shoes that are good for the summer' create a much stronger exposure opportunity. Because the customer's purchase intention and context are contained in the question, GPT generates answers based on the meaning and context of the question rather than simple keyword matching. Therefore, rather than a keyword bidding strategy, practitioners must first consider which questions our brand should appear in. Data such as reviews, consultation details, and FAQs can be a good starting point for getting a good idea of customer questions in advance.

② 'Reason for Recommendation' Over 'Commodity': The Explanation Method Changes
GPT does not just present a product list; it also gives a convincing explanation for why you recommend this product. Consumers also make purchase decisions based on persuasive reasons provided by brands, rather than comparing prices or specifications. In fact, Amazon emphasizes reviews and Q&A data to help consumers make purchase decisions, and domestic platforms such as Musinsa and Coupang also use user reviews as an important purchasing factor. The GPT will play a role in explaining why you should choose this product based on this data. Therefore, it is important for practitioners to structure brand stories, differentiation points, and review data rather than listing product information. From now on, the standard of competition will not simply show what it is, but will shift to how persuasively it explains why it is this product.

③ From 'click competition' to 'immediate transition': Purchase timing is accelerated
In GPT-based shopping, customers already have enough information through conversation. In other words, rather than using an advertisement banner or a CTA button to guide the next step, the answer in the conversation becomes a purchase transition moment. This means that the customer journey is shortened, and the moment of decision takes place in the conversation rather than in the search or detail page. Therefore, rather than using phrases that increase click-through rates, practitioners should consider messages that convince customers to purchase without hesitation.

Now is the time to understand the flow 🦄

The GPT payment feature is still in its early stages of experimentation, and there are many challenges to solve, such as security, revenue distribution, and personal information. But what is more important to practitioners is to read how these changes change the customer's purchasing journey. In the future, customers are more likely to receive reliable recommendations in a short conversation and make quick decisions instead of dozens of clicks. This is not just a purchase conversion rate issue, but rather a sign that the content design, product description, and customer journey must be redesigned as a whole. Eventually, the center of gravity of the competition is shifting to "how convincingly explained" rather than "how exposed" it is. Now is the time to read the change and start preparing to gain customer trust at once.

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