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Starbucks (SBUX) announced Wednesday it’s testing a new app on OpenAI’s (OPAI.PVT) ChatGPT platform as OpenAI’s shopping push has shifted toward product discovery.
Customers using the app can describe what kind of drink they want (“I’m craving an afternoon boost that isn’t too sweet”) or upload a photo of the weather or their outfit, and the chatbot will suggest options for them to order.
Customers will customize their drinks, choose their pickup location, and start their order in ChatGPT, but they’ll ultimately finish checking out in the Starbucks app or website.
This isn’t the first time OpenAI has partnered with a household brand name. Last fall, the startup created similar experiences for Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT), though its e-commerce strategy has undergone some changes.
At first, OpenAI launched Instant Checkout in ChatGPT, allowing customers to buy directly in the app. But it has since pulled back on that initiative.
“We’ve found that the initial version of Instant Checkout did not offer the level of flexibility that we aspire to provide, so we’re allowing merchants to use their own checkout experiences while we focus our efforts on product discovery,” OpenAI said in March.
Now, OpenAI’s shopping push is focused on finding products that fit customers’ prompts, allowing shoppers to set their budget, preferences, and constraints — or the vibe they’re going for.
In October, Walmart announced a partnership with OpenAI, saying customers would be able to purchase items directly on the ChatGPT platform. However, Walmart has since embedded its own proprietary AI shopping assistant, Sparky, into the chatbot, giving the retailer more control.
Daniel Danker, who oversees AI acceleration at Walmart, said the company’s approach is the same “whether that’s [at] Walmart or a question in ChatGPT.”
“Our approach is simple: wherever it begins, customers still get the same personalized Walmart experience, including our assortment, value and speed,” Danker told Yahoo Finance. “With Sparky, we’re bringing our trusted experience into more places.”
Target and OpenAI partnered in mid-November on an app that enabled customers to tag Target in ChatGPT and prompt the chatbot with what they’re looking for.
Like the Starbucks app, customers can access Target’s assortment on the platform and add items to their cart based on ChatGPT’s recommendations. When customers are ready to purchase items from the cart, they are taken to Target’s own app.
