Meta Platforms Inc. is testing a new AI-powered shopping research feature inside its Meta AI chatbot, allowing users to request personalized product recommendations through a conversational interface.

The move places Meta directly into competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini as AI chatbots increasingly expand into ecommerce discovery and monetization.

The feature, currently rolling out to select US-based users on the Meta AI web experience, generates product image carousels with pricing, brand details, merchant links, and brief explanations for why items are recommended.

This development affects retailers, advertisers, and consumers as AI assistants begin influencing how products are discovered — not through traditional search engines or social feeds, but through conversational prompts.

Here’s what this means for the expanding role of AI chatbots as digital shopping intermediaries.

Meta’s shopping feature places the company more directly in competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, both of which have introduced ecommerce discovery tools as AI platforms explore new revenue pathways.

While ChatGPT and Gemini have already integrated shopping capabilities into their conversational interfaces, Meta’s approach draws on its existing commerce ecosystem and advertising infrastructure.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the feature is being tested with select US users but declined to provide additional details about its monetization strategy or long-term rollout plans.

According to Bloomberg News’ testing, the chatbot tailors product recommendations based on what Meta already knows about a user’s location and the gender it infers from their name. For example, when asked to find puffer jackets, the chatbot referenced the tester’s location in New York and suggested women’s jackets, inferring gender from the name associated with the account.

This indicates that Meta AI may draw on existing platform data to personalize shopping recommendations within the chatbot interface.

There is currently no checkout or payment option within Meta AI. Users must click through to merchant websites to continue browsing or complete purchases.

Meta did not respond to questions about:

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly emphasized Meta’s ambition to build what he calls “personal superintelligence.”

During a January earnings call, Zuckerberg said upcoming product releases would demonstrate Meta’s ability to create a “uniquely personal experience” based on users’ history, interests, content consumption, and relationships on the platform.

He also referenced “agentic shopping tools” that, according to his January earnings call remarks, would allow people to “find just the right, very specific set of products from the businesses in our catalog.” Zuckerberg contrasted this approach with Meta’s existing advertising model, which currently helps businesses target the specific people most likely to be interested in their products.

By embedding product discovery directly into conversational interfaces, Meta’s AI systems would place recommendation logic inside the chatbot itself — potentially positioning Meta AI as an intermediary between users and businesses in its catalog.

Q: What is Meta’s new AI shopping feature?
A: Meta is testing an AI-powered shopping research tool inside its Meta AI chatbot that allows users to request product recommendations through a conversational interface.

Q: How does the Meta AI shopping tool generate recommendations?
A: When prompted, the chatbot returns a carousel of product images that include pricing, brand information, merchant website links, and brief bullet-point explanations describing why each item was selected.

Q: How does Meta AI personalize shopping recommendations?
A: During testing, recommendations reflected user-specific context such as geographic location and inferred demographic signals. For example, when asked for puffer jackets, the chatbot referenced the user’s New York location and suggested women’s jackets based on gender inferred from the user’s name.

Q: Who currently has access to the feature?
A: The shopping research tool is being rolled out to select US-based users of the Meta AI web experience and is not yet widely available.

Q: Does Meta earn referral commissions or prioritize advertisers?
A: Meta declined to comment on whether it receives referral commissions for product recommendations or whether brands that advertise on Facebook or Instagram are prioritized in chatbot results.

Q: Can users complete purchases inside the chatbot?
A: No. There is currently no checkout or payment functionality within Meta AI. Users must click through to merchant websites to complete purchases.

Meta’s test of AI-powered shopping recommendations highlights how conversational AI is beginning to reshape product discovery in digital commerce.

Who should care: Retail brands, ecommerce platforms, digital advertisers, and consumers who rely on AI assistants for product research because conversational AI may increasingly influence which products are discovered first.

Why it matters now: As platforms like Meta AI, ChatGPT, and Gemini integrate product recommendations directly into conversational interfaces, they begin influencing brand visibility at the earliest stage of shopping intent — potentially reshaping online discovery beyond traditional search engines and social feeds.

What decision this affects: Businesses must now consider how their products appear inside AI-driven recommendation systems, not just in traditional search engines or social feeds, including whether catalog participation, data feeds, or advertising relationships influence visibility. The shift from feed-based advertising to conversational discovery could alter digital marketing strategies across industries.

If conversational AI becomes a primary entry point for shopping decisions, the companies that control recommendation algorithms may quietly shape which brands are discovered — and which are overlooked.

Editor’s Note: This article was created by Alicia Shapiro, CMO of AiNews.com, with writing, image, and idea-generation support from ChatGPT, an AI assistant. However, the final perspective and editorial choices are solely Alicia Shapiro’s. Special thanks to ChatGPT for assistance with research and editorial support in crafting this article.