ChatGPT adds virtual try-on and saved looks to shopping

From product search to saved looks

The try-on feature runs on ChatGPT Images 2.5. OpenAI says the model handles lighting and texture more naturally, follows editing instructions more reliably and generates images with less delay.

Users can upload a selfie or a full-body photo and tap Try On in ChatGPT product-search results. They can also upload an image of an item, such as a screenshot from a website, and ask ChatGPT to show how it might look on them.

Image Credits: OpenAI

Source: techcrunch.com

Favorites lets users save products to the Library section of the app and return to them later. Virtual try-on images are stored there too.

OpenAI also suggests starting with inspiration rather than a specific product. Users can describe a look and ask ChatGPT to find pieces for it, or upload photos of celebrity outfits and ask for similar clothing and accessories they can buy.

The harder part is earning the recommendation

This is another attempt to make ChatGPT useful in online shopping, after OpenAI had to rethink its earlier instant-checkout idea because it performed poorly. There is a trust problem here, too: some users found product recommendations from AI-agent startup Instinct intrusive and too much like advertising.

I think the more interesting test is not whether ChatGPT can produce a convincing image. It is whether users will trust its suggestions enough to shop from them. A virtual try-on can make discovery more visual, but the announcement says little about how ChatGPT chooses which products to recommend or how it will keep those recommendations from feeling like ads.

Pinterest and Google have helped people find fashion inspiration that can lead to online purchases. Google also launched virtual try-on last year, so ChatGPT is entering an established category rather than creating one. Its opening is to bring search, styling and saved looks into one assistant; the risk is that a smoother shopping flow will not matter if users doubt what it is showing them.