On Thursday, OpenAI announced that it is making two shopping features globally available in ChatGPT: a virtual try-on tool for clothing and accessories, and a Favorites library where users can save products for later.
What the new features do
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The virtual try-on lets ChatGPT users upload a selfie or a full-body photo to visualize how a clothing item or accessory might look on them. The option appears as a new "Try On" button in ChatGPT’s shopping results. Users can also upload an image of an item — for example a website screenshot — and ask ChatGPT to try that item on the uploaded photo.
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The Favorites feature allows users to save products they find into a Library within the app so they can revisit them later. OpenAI notes that Saved items will be stored alongside try-on images.
Underlying model and capabilities
OpenAI said these updates are powered by the recently launched ChatGPT Images 2.5 model. According to the company, Images 2.5 produces more natural lighting and richer textures, follows editing instructions more reliably, and reduces image-generation latency.
Context: AI assistants and shopping
The announcement comes as conversational AI assistants expand into consumer shopping use cases. OpenAI earlier shifted away from a previously piloted instant checkout feature after it failed to perform well. Separately, agentic AI startup Instinct has been pushing proactive product recommendations to users, an approach some criticized as feeling more like ads than helpful suggestions.
OpenAI also highlighted additional shopping uses for ChatGPT: users can describe a style they want to try and ask the assistant to shop for the required pieces, or upload photos of celebrities’ outfits and request the assistant to find items available for purchase. These capabilities move ChatGPT into territory long used by Pinterest and Google for fashion discovery that can convert into retail sales.
Whether ChatGPT will become the primary destination for these activities remains to be seen, particularly given that Google launched its own virtual try-on last year.
Why this matters
The new features show how conversational AI is being adapted to provide direct consumer value in e-commerce—potentially simplifying discovery and purchase paths for shoppers, while creating new conversion opportunities for online retailers. They also raise questions about handling visual personal data and the appropriate level of proactivity for recommendations.
Source: OpenAI announcement, Thursday.
