DTC806: Optimizing Products For ChatGPT Shopping

Good morning,

Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC:

🤖 A New Way To Shop Online
We test out ChatGPT’s new shopping feature.

💡 Are Your Products Showing Up in ChatGPT?
How to optimize your product listings for AI search.

📦 Daily Tariff Update
Troubling news for Q4.

🛍️ Temu’s Price Hike?
Users react to new import fees.

‍

You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: BRUH. Skincare, aussieBum, and Jellyvision. 👋

👏 Timeless Advertising Principles Meet Modern AI Tools In This Can’t-Miss Virtual Event‍‍

Over 11,000 marketers joined last year. This year, it’s your turn.

Join Motion’s 3rd annual Make Ads That Convert, happening May 27–June 4.

This isn’t just another virtual event—it’s a live, online masterclass series led by some of DTC’s top advertising minds, including AI experts Alex Cooper, Jimmy Slagle, and Jacob Posel.

🧑‍💻 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. 🎯

Last year, over 11,000 people registered for Make Ads That Convert. This year, everyone (including your competitors) will be there.  

Don't miss out.

🤖 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.

‍

‍

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 ‘personalized cutting boards under $100,’ and these were the results:

‍

‍

👉 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.

‍

The takeaway?

ChatGPT Shopping offers a faster, smarter way to browse and buy.

By turning your queries into curated product recommendations—complete with summaries, comparisons, and direct links—it 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! 👇

📦 Your Daily Tariff Check-In

Whether it’s a minor tweak or a major shift, we’ll keep you posted on the latest tariff changes—so you’re always in the know.

‍

May 1, 2025 update:

• Retailers Warn Tariffs Will Cause Toy Shortage This Christmas
  • Businesses are pausing orders for the winter holidays due to import taxes, which can lead to toy shortages and increased prices.
  • When asked about the shortage, President Trump said shelves will be open, but “children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more.”
• U.S. economy shrinks in Q1
  • GDP fell by 0.3% during Q1, down from 2.4% in Q4 of 2024.
  • This contraction puts the U.S. on the brink of a technical recession, which is defined as two quarters of negative growth.

🌟 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. ✨

From May 27 until June 4, Motion’s 3rd annual Make Ads That Convert is showing you how to apply timeless advertising principles to modern AI tools. 💥

👉 Learn from industry leaders:

• Alex Cooper, AI expert whose agency, AdCrate, works with 8-9 figure DTC brands
• Jimmy Slagle, the leading voice on using AI agents + workflows in advertising
• Jacob Posel, software engineer turned DTC AI expert
• Kelly Rocklein, co-founder of UGC Pro
• Dara Denney, Motion’s Chief Evangelist and the entire reason this event series exists

Ready to lighten your workload while creating more winning ads? 🏆

Discover cutting-edge secrets to success.

‍💡 AI’s New Sales Channel Is Here—Is Your Brand Ready?

With ChatGPT’s new shopping update, OpenAI just turned your customers’ favorite chatbot into a legitimate product discovery engine.

Think: product carousels, “Buy” buttons, reviews, pricing—all 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?

‍

Pilothouse shares these tactical tips:

1️⃣ Structured Data = Free Real Estate

ChatGPT pulls from schema markup and product feeds like your site’s Product JSON-LD.

You're invisible to the AI if your product pages don’t include schema fields (price, description, availability, rating, image).

🔧 Fix it:

• Run the Google Rich Results Test on a product page—green check = good. ✅
• Shopify? Install JSON-LD for SEO or Schema Plus for SEO & JSON-LD —both auto-push rich schema (Product, FAQ, Review, Breadcrumbs) without code.

👉 Have a custom site? Add schema manually or via your CMS plugin.

2️⃣ Optimize Like You’re Answering a Question

ChatGPT isn’t Google. It doesn’t care about exact-match keywords. ChatGPT cares about meaning.

Instead of:

“Acme X100 – Advanced Noise-Cancelling”

Try:

“Acme X100 Wireless Headphones – Best for Commuting & Focused Work”

🔧 Fix it: Rewrite your product titles and descriptions like you’re explaining it to a friend.

Be specific. Answer what it is, who it’s for, and why it rocks.

3️⃣ FAQs & Reviews = Content Gold for AI

ChatGPT reads your product reviews and FAQs to figure out your competitive edge.

If people say it “lasted through a hurricane” or “fits under airplane seats,” the AI picks that up.

🔧 Fix it: Add an FAQ to every PDP.

Prompt reviews with specific questions like “What problem did this solve for you?”

4️⃣ Stay in Stock. Stay Accurate. Or Get Skipped.

ChatGPT shows live prices and availability. If your metadata says “$89” but your site says “$109,” guess who’s getting ghosted?

🔧 Fix it: Use inventory tracking. Keep schema and feeds fresh. If you’re on Shopify, this is mostly automated—just don’t turn off those syncs.

5️⃣ Shopify × ChatGPT Sales Channel (Rumored Beta)

Industry code-sleuths spotted references to “shopify_checkout_url” and “buy_now” buttons inside ChatGPT’s codebase, hinting Shopify could be testing a native ChatGPT Sales Channel.

There’s no public wait-list yet, but:

Keep an eye on Shopify’s announcements (or subscribe to their product-updates list).

When an official beta or “ChatGPT Sales Channel” app appears, install ASAP so your catalog feeds straight into the AI.

‍

The takeaway?

Your next customer might discover your brand and products in a conversation with ChatGPT.

Make sure your product feed speaks fluent robot—so ChatGPT can sell for you, 24/7.

⚡ QUICK HITS

🖼️ Still struggling with using AI for your ads? Join Motion’s virtual event on May 27 - June 4 and learn how to pair advertising fundamentals with the latest AI tools. Register for FREE here. *

‍

📰 NEWS

• The US economy shrinks 0.3% in Q1 for the first time since 2022 due to trade war.
• Retailers fear toy shortages at Christmas as tariffs disrupt the supply chain.
• Meta’s AI app will include a premium tier and ads.

‍

🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE

Temu’s new ‘import charges’ 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 Trump’s harsh tariffs on China.

‍

‍

📅 EVENTS

Data Innovation Summit -  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.

📅 May 7-8, 📍 Kista, Sweden 💰 €249 - €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.

📅 May 12-14, 📍 London, UK 💰 Register To Attend

‍📥 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.

‍

Have you heard our latest podcasts?

• ⭐ TWBERP 31: Behind Frye’s Emails: Design and Strategy
• 🛍️ Inside Shein’s $30B Global Fashion Machine (Live from ShopTalk)
• 🧠 AKNF 502: DTC Survival Guide To Increase Marketing Efficiency
• 💡 TWBERP 30: GlockApps on Opens, Clicks and Privacy Myths
• 🍫 How Mid-Day Squares Scaled to $36M with Costco and More
• 💰AKNF 500: Don’t Overspend on Amazon and Kill Organic Results

‍

Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

‍

DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.

Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content.