Target just became the latest retail giant to bet big on AI shopping. The company debuts its ChatGPT-powered app next week, letting customers build baskets, get product ideas, and complete purchases through natural conversation. It's OpenAI's boldest retail expansion yet, coming as the AI company races to capture billions in commerce revenue through its growing marketplace of shopping-enabled apps.
Target is about to transform how America shops, and it's doing it through a conversation. The retail giant launches its ChatGPT-powered shopping app next week, marking OpenAI's most aggressive push into commerce yet as the AI company races to capture billions in retail revenue.
The timing couldn't be more strategic. Just last month, OpenAI started rolling out dedicated retail apps within ChatGPT, signing up major players like Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow. Now Target's entry signals this isn't just experimentation - it's a full-scale assault on traditional e-commerce.
"The Target app will let shoppers ask for ideas, browse and build multi-item baskets, shop for food, and check out," according to OpenAI's announcement. That's not just product discovery - it's complete transactional capability wrapped in natural language. Customers can literally say "I need ingredients for Thanksgiving dinner for 8 people" and walk away with a fully curated, purchasable cart.
The move puts OpenAI in direct competition with Google's shopping features and Amazon's Alexa commerce push. But unlike voice assistants that require specific commands, ChatGPT's conversational interface feels more like texting a knowledgeable friend who happens to have access to Target's entire inventory.
What makes this partnership deeper than others is the enterprise component. Target isn't just offering ChatGPT to customers - it's deploying ChatGPT Enterprise across all 18,000 headquarters employees. The applications span from supply chain forecasting to streamlining store processes, potentially giving Target operational advantages that competitors can't easily replicate.
"Target will further integrate OpenAI's models into digital tools that power everything from employee support and customer service to AI-driven shopping assistants and personalized gift finders," the companies revealed. This suggests views AI not as a marketing gimmick, but as core infrastructure for competing in retail's next era.
