ChatGPT vs. Gemini vs. Perplexity: Which AI Shopping Assistant Wins?

AI is muscling its way into the Black Friday fray, promising to ease the annual shopping madness. Three prominent contenders are ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Perplexity, each vying to be your smartest shopping companion. I put them to the test, tasking each with finding the best laptop under $800. The results revealed distinct approaches to AI-powered retail assistance.

ChatGPT: The Curated Concierge
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ChatGPT’s “Shopping Research” feature reframes the chatbot as a personalized shopping guide. Initially, it quizzes you with multiple-choice questions to refine your needs. What size screen do you want? How much do you value battery versus performance? Is portability a must-have? After you’ve answered, ChatGPT hunts for relevant options.

Shortly after, it spits out a buyer’s guide, listing laptops under $800 that align with your preferences. This includes pros and cons, feature comparisons, and estimated prices. One useful addition is a comparison chart. It’s worth noting that my test predominantly yielded links to Best Buy. Other retailers like Amazon seemed to be excluded. Pricing and availability, sourced from diverse locations, weren’t always spot-on, as ChatGPT readily admits.

Gemini: Leveraging Google’s Shopping Powerhouse
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Gemini taps into Google’s vast shopping resources. While ChatGPT offers curated suggestions, Google banks on scale, extensive data, and integration across many retailers.

Google’s Shopping Graph, reportedly containing over 50 billion product listings constantly updated across retailers, serves as its backbone. Gemini skipped the initial Q&A. Instead, it used reasonable assumptions and offered a spectrum of choices. Each item showed links to various retailers and, sometimes, price histories.

The Gemini research proved useful. Google provides a broader suite of AI shopping tools. AI-powered search offers deals and price tracking. You can even set up an AI agent to automate purchases based on your specified price points.

Even regular Google searches benefit from AI. Based on your query, you might see a “call-store” option, prompting Gemini to dial local retailers, inquiring about inventory, promotions, or product availability.

Perplexity: Bridging Search and Purchase

Perplexity’s AI shopping tools are relatively new. However, they extend its existing AI search capabilities. A dedicated “Shopping” tab streamlines the experience. Entering your desired item yields a clean grid of product cards. In my case, the cards included ratings, prices, and key pros and cons like upgradeability.

Browsing felt intuitive. It resembled navigating a well-designed online store, but with AI-driven context. I also valued the “instant buy” button, enabling integrated checkout through partner merchants.

Perplexity strikes a balance between browsing and buying with its direct purchase options. Still, one of the initial suggestions exceeded my specified price limit, raising questions about the precision of its selections.

What Does It All Mean for AI Shopping?

Each AI assistant brings its unique strengths to the table. I’d still hesitate to abandon traditional search methods altogether. ChatGPT’s ability to focus my search impressed me, as did Perplexity’s quick and simple purchase options. Google’s comprehensive shopping research also carries considerable weight.

I might still consider buying the laptop ChatGPT suggested, but I’d keep Gemini and Perplexity tabs open, too. There’s value in comparing, contrasting, and, frankly, double-checking what these AI assistants present. This is a rapidly evolving space. Experience suggests that even with the best tools, a healthy dose of skepticism remains a shopper’s best friend. The promise is there, but the execution, as always, needs a critical eye.

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Keywords: AI shopping assistants, ChatGPT shopping, Gemini shopping, Perplexity shopping, AI laptop buying, best AI shopping, AI shopping comparison, Black Friday AI tools