Target quietly adds ChatGPT to its cart

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Big box retailer Target said on Wednesday that it will install the Target app within OpenAI’s chatbot ChatGPT to let users shop directly within the platform. Shoppers can search and cart items in ChatGPT, then complete purchases with their Target account.

“Our goal is simple: make every interaction feel as natural, helpful, and inspiring as chatting with a friend,” Prat Vemana, EVP and chief information and product officer at Target, wrote in a press statement. Target will also let consumers fulfill drive-thru and pickup orders within ChatGPT, the company said.

Like Walmart, Target’s new AI-driven shopping experience is framed as an effort to meet shoppers where they are, especially given the rising referral traffic from generative AI sources like ChatGPT to retailer websites. Meanwhile, OpenAI is making an aggressive push into e-commerce, striking similar partnerships with Shopify and Etsy.

OpenAI CEO of Applications Fidji Simo lauded Target for its rapid adoption. “A big part of the AI transformation is happening inside enterprises, and Target is a great example of what that shift looks like when it’s done with ambition and speed,” Simo said in a press statement.

Target’s ChatGPT integration comes roughly a month after rival Walmart said it will let customers shop directly within ChatGPT. However, the exact rollout date and execution of Walmart’s ChatGPT shopping feature remains unknown.

Meanwhile, Ryan Craver, chief strategy and data officer at Podean, an agency that helps merchants sell on Amazon and Walmart, said Target is clearly ahead of Walmart in terms of execution on ChatGPT.

“The space is evolving rapidly,” Craver told Retail Brew in a text message. Shopify and Etsy got the ball rolling with ChatGPT integrations in September, and Target clearly jumped in right after with its official launch slated for next week, Craver added. “This has prompted Walmart to move quickly through an early partnership, while Amazon is positioning itself as a fast follower.”