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Hereās what youāll find in todayās DTC:
š¤ A New Way To Shop Online
We test out ChatGPTās new shopping feature.
š” Are Your Products Showing Up in ChatGPT?
How to optimize your product listings for AI search.
š¦ Daily Tariff Update
Troubling news for Q4.
šļø Temuās Price Hike?
Users react to new import fees.
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Youāre reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: BRUH. Skincare, aussieBum, and Jellyvision. š
š Timeless Advertising Principles Meet Modern AI Tools In This Canāt-Miss Virtual Eventāā
Over 11,000 marketers joined last year. This year, itās your turn.
Join Motionās 3rd annual Make Ads That Convert, happening May 27āJune 4.
This isnāt just another virtual eventāitās a live, online masterclass series led by some of DTCās top advertising minds, including AI experts Alex Cooper, Jimmy Slagle, and Jacob Posel.
š§āš» Discover AI tools that accelerate classic market research, and even better, create your own ads during hands-on workshops, including access to new AI tools you haven't discovered yet.
Learn how to apply timeless advertising principles to modern tools. Each session builds on the last, allowing you to workshop new ads in real-time. šÆ
Last year, over 11,000 people registered for Make Ads That Convert. This year, everyone (including your competitors) will be there. Ā
Don't miss out.
*Ā sponsored
š¤ ChatGPT Rolls Out Shopping Feature
ChatGPT can now help users find the perfect product with its new Shopping feature.
Rather than sifting through search results, the AI chatbot narrows down top candidates according to your query.
How ChatGPT Shopping works:
We decided to put ChatGPT to the test and prompt it to help us find the perfect housewarming gift.
We specified the occasion (a housewarming party) and a price point (products under $100).
ChatGPT replied with links to a few different items and a brief summary.
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It also included a product carousel of top choices from various retailers like Amazon, Etsy, and Pottery Barn.
In a follow-up prompt, we decided to narrow our search to just āpersonalized cutting boards under $100,ā and these were the results:
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š Remember, ChatGPT will tailor its response according to your needs. If you specify a budget, the AI chatbot will focus on price, but if it isn't specified in your prompt, it will touch on other key features.
ChatGPT displayed three options within our desired price range.
If a customer clicked on an image, it activated a sidebar menu. This showed additional information about the product, including customer reviews.
When asked to compare the pros and cons of the top three selections, the AI chatbot was able to provide feedback within seconds, focusing on key attributes like: material, shipping times, price, reviews, and design.
When a customer is finally ready to make a purchase, they can click on a Buy button and be redirected to the retailer's site all within the chat interface.
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The takeaway?
ChatGPT Shopping offers a faster, smarter way to browse and buy.
By turning your queries into curated product recommendationsācomplete with summaries, comparisons, and direct linksāit simplifies decision-making in comparison to traditional search.
While it's still in early stages, this feature will continue to evolve based on user feedback and has the potential to change how we shop online.
*Right now, the Shopping feature only shows organic results, although ad placements may be available in the future.
Want your brand to show up for AI search? Keep scrolling down for deeper insights from Pilothouse! š
š¦ Your Daily Tariff Check-In
Whether itās a minor tweak or a major shift, weāll keep you posted on the latest tariff changesāso youāre always in the know.
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May 1, 2025 update:
š Learn How to Adapt Timeless Advertising Principles to The New World of AI-first Ad Production
Join Motion's Make Ads That Convert 2025 virtual event series. It's free, it's 5 live virtual sessions, and it's taught by the finest minds in AI and advertising right now in DTC. āØ
From May 27 until June 4, Motionās 3rd annual Make Ads That Convert is showing you how to apply timeless advertising principles to modern AI tools. š„
š Learn from industry leaders:
Ready to lighten your workload while creating more winning ads? š
Discover cutting-edge secrets to success.
*Ā sponsored
āš” AIās New Sales Channel Is HereāIs Your Brand Ready?
With ChatGPTās new shopping update, OpenAI just turned your customersā favorite chatbot into a legitimate product discovery engine.
Think: product carousels, āBuyā buttons, reviews, pricingāall served up in a chat window.
No ads. No paid placements. Just AI-picked recommendations.
So, how do you get your products to show up in AI search?
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Pilothouse shares these tactical tips:
1ļøā£ Structured Data = Free Real Estate
ChatGPT pulls from schema markup and product feeds like your siteās Product JSON-LD.
You're invisible to the AI if your product pages donāt include schema fields (price, description, availability, rating, image).
š§ Fix it:
š Have a custom site? Add schema manually or via your CMS plugin.
2ļøā£ Optimize Like Youāre Answering a Question
ChatGPT isnāt Google. It doesnāt care about exact-match keywords. ChatGPT cares about meaning.
Instead of:
āAcme X100 ā Advanced Noise-Cancellingā
Try:
āAcme X100 Wireless Headphones ā Best for Commuting & Focused Workā
š§ Fix it: Rewrite your product titles and descriptions like youāre explaining it to a friend.
Be specific. Answer what it is, who itās for, and why it rocks.
3ļøā£ FAQs & Reviews = Content Gold for AI
ChatGPT reads your product reviews and FAQs to figure out your competitive edge.
If people say it ālasted through a hurricaneā or āfits under airplane seats,ā the AI picks that up.
š§ Fix it: Add an FAQ to every PDP.
Prompt reviews with specific questions like āWhat problem did this solve for you?ā
4ļøā£ Stay in Stock. Stay Accurate. Or Get Skipped.
ChatGPT shows live prices and availability. If your metadata says ā$89ā but your site says ā$109,ā guess whoās getting ghosted?
š§ Fix it: Use inventory tracking. Keep schema and feeds fresh. If youāre on Shopify, this is mostly automatedājust donāt turn off those syncs.
5ļøā£ Shopify Ć ChatGPT Sales Channel (Rumored Beta)
Industry code-sleuths spotted references to āshopify_checkout_urlā and ābuy_nowā buttons inside ChatGPTās codebase, hinting Shopify could be testing a native ChatGPT Sales Channel.
Thereās no public wait-list yet, but:
Keep an eye on Shopifyās announcements (or subscribe to their product-updates list).
When an official beta or āChatGPT Sales Channelā app appears, install ASAP so your catalog feeds straight into the AI.
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The takeaway?
Your next customer might discover your brand and products in a conversation with ChatGPT.
Make sure your product feed speaks fluent robotāso ChatGPT can sell for you, 24/7.
ā” QUICK HITS
š¼ļø Still struggling with using AI for your ads? Join Motionās virtual event on May 27 - June 4 and learn how to pair advertising fundamentals with the latest AI tools. Register for FREE here. *
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š° NEWS
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š IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE
Temuās new āimport chargesā are having a huge impact on U.S. shoppers.
Angry customers are sharing the shocking receipts on X with fees ranging between 130% to 150% due to Trumpās harsh tariffs on China.
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š EVENTS
Data Innovation Summit - Ā The two-day hybrid event (in-person and online) brings together innovative minds from across the Nordics and beyond, including enterprise practitioners, technology providers, and academics. DIS is designed to address the various aspects of data-driven and AI-ready businesses, connecting people, processes, and technology.
š May 7-8, š Kista, Sweden š° ā¬249 - ā¬499
World Retail Congress - The Congress offers a unique opportunity to network with peers from leading retail brands and to hear from renowned speakers and industry experts who share insights and best practices.
š May 12-14, š London, UK š° Register To Attend
āš„ Got a B2B Biz?
Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 150k brand leaders and founders this year. Talk to our team to learn more.
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DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
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