AI Goes Shopping—and It's Buying Everything For You
PLUS: CX Prompt Tip of the Day - The Shopping Success Predictor
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📅 October 13, 2025 | ⏱️ 3-min read
🎯 The big picture
AI just became your shopping buddy, personal stylist, and business assistant all rolled into one—completing purchases on your behalf, trying on clothes virtually, and handling transactions while you sleep.
📊 Today’s lineup
• Banks realize the winning formula: AI + humans, not AI vs humans
• OpenAI turns ChatGPT into your personal shopping assistant with instant checkout
• Google’s AI lets you try on clothes virtually before buying
• Perplexity’s free AI browser shows the future of assisted shopping
• Google’s enterprise AI agents are ready to join your customer service team
1️⃣ Banks crack the code: AI and humans make the perfect customer service team
What’s happening:
• Google’s latest study shows two-thirds of financial executives report meaningful CX improvements from AI
• 75% of banks achieve positive ROI within the first year of AI customer service deployment
• American Express survey finds 74% of consumers had positive experiences with AI-powered support
What’s so great about this: The banking industry figured out what many CX leaders are still learning—AI doesn’t replace humans, it makes them superhuman. While AI handles routine queries instantly, human agents focus on complex problems and relationship building. It’s like having a tireless junior agent who never sleeps, freeing up your best people for what they do best.
What’s next: Expect to see this “AI + human” model become the gold standard across all industries. The key is designing handoffs that feel seamless to customers.
Go deeper: Forbes
2️⃣ OpenAI turns ChatGPT into your personal shopping assistant with instant checkout
What’s happening:
• OpenAI launched “Instant Checkout” directly in ChatGPT with over 1 million merchants
• Users can now buy products without leaving the chat interface
• The feature uses agentic AI to handle the entire purchase process from search to payment
What’s so interesting: This isn’t just another shopping chatbot—it’s AI that can complete transactions on your behalf. You can ask ChatGPT to find and buy something, and it handles everything from product research to checkout. It’s like having a personal shopper who never gets tired and knows every store on the internet.
What’s next: Expect every major AI assistant to add shopping capabilities. The race is on to become the default AI shopping companion that customers trust with their purchases.
Go deeper: Mashable
3️⃣ Google’s AI lets you try on clothes virtually before buying
What’s happening:
• Google’s new AI shopping feature lets you virtually “try on” clothing using just a photo
• The technology shows how different articles of clothing would look on your specific body type
• Rolling out across Google Shopping and partner retailers
What’s so great about this: Online shopping’s biggest pain point just got solved. No more ordering three sizes hoping one fits, no more expensive return shipping, no more closets full of clothes that looked great online but terrible in person. The AI understands fabric drape, body proportions, and color matching better than most human stylists.
What’s next: Virtual try-on will become table stakes for fashion retailers. Companies without this technology will struggle with return rates while competitors offer risk-free shopping experiences.
Go deeper: AOL
4️⃣ Perplexity’s free AI browser shows the future of assisted shopping
What’s happening:
• Perplexity made its Comet AI browser completely free after charging $200/month for premium access
• The browser includes an AI assistant that searches, summarizes content, compares prices, and even plans trips
• Millions of users were already on the waiting list before the free launch
What’s so interesting: This isn’t just another browser with AI bolted on—it’s AI that travels with you across the web. The assistant can compare prices across sites, summarize lengthy articles, and handle tasks in real-time. It’s like having a personal shopping assistant and research intern built into your browser.
What’s next: Expect Google Chrome and other browsers to rapidly integrate similar AI-powered shopping and browsing assistance. The race is on to make every web experience AI-enhanced.
Go deeper: Jerusalem Post
5️⃣ Google’s enterprise AI agents are ready to clock in as your coworkers
What’s happening:
• Google launched Gemini Enterprise with conversational AI for workplace tasks
• New platform includes customer service agent development tools and integration capabilities
• Early customers include Gap, Figma, and Klarna for various business functions
What’s so great about this: Enterprise AI is becoming less like software and more like hiring a new team member. These agents understand context, learn from interactions, and can handle complex workflows. The difference is they integrate with your existing tools and scale instantly when you need them.
What’s next: Companies will start budgeting for “AI headcount” alongside human headcount. The question becomes: which tasks need human creativity versus AI efficiency?
Go deeper: Indian Express
⚡ Quick hits
• Amazon Alexa+ subscription faces customer backlash over ad overload → voice assistant monetization challenges
• Meta pushes Metaverse team to work 5x faster with AI → internal AI productivity pressure
• Osome launches AI business platform in UAE → small business AI automation expansion
💡 CX Prompt Tip of the Day
The Shopping Success Predictor
Analyze this customer’s shopping behavior: [paste order history/preferences].
Predict what they’re most likely to buy next and why.
Include:
1) Top 3 product recommendations with confidence scores,
2) The best time to reach out,
3) Personalized messaging that would resonate,
4) Potential objections and how to address them.
Quick win: This prompt helps you anticipate customer needs before they even know they have them—the holy grail of proactive customer experience.
🤔 CX reflection
Question of the day: With AI now able to complete purchases autonomously, how should customer service teams prepare for when customers’ AI agents start contacting your AI agents directly?
See you tomorrow!
Mark