ChatGPT Enters the Fitting Room: OpenAI Launches Virtual Try On and Favorites Features
Category: Artificial Intelligence / Consumer Tech
OpenAI is once again experimenting with how its conversational AI assistant can reshape the way people shop online. On Thursday, the company announced the global launch of two new shopping features designed to bring ChatGPT closer to the heart of the consumer purchasing journey. The first is a virtual try on tool that lets users visualize clothing and accessories on their own bodies. The second is a favoriting function that allows users to save products for later reference.
These updates arrive at a moment when AI assistants are aggressively exploring consumer use cases around shopping. The stakes are high, and the path is littered with cautionary tales. OpenAI itself had to pivot away from an earlier instant checkout feature that failed to gain traction. More recently, agentic AI startup Instinct began pushing product recommendations to users, but the proactive nature of those suggestions provoked backlash. Many users felt the recommendations were less like helpful guidance and more like intrusive advertising. OpenAI appears to have learned from these missteps, positioning its new features as tools that respond to user intent rather than unsolicited prompts.
The Technology Behind the Experience
OpenAI said its new shopping features leverage the newly launched ChatGPT Images 2.5 model. According to the company, this model produces more natural lighting and richer textures, follows editing instructions more reliably, and reduces image generation latency. These technical improvements are critical for a virtual try on feature, where the illusion of realism depends on how convincingly a garment drapes over a user’s unique body shape and how accurately lighting and shadow interact with fabric.
To use the virtual try on feature, ChatGPT users can upload a selfie or a full body photo. The assistant then visualizes how an article of clothing or an accessory might look on them. This option appears as a new Try On button within ChatGPT’s shopping results. Users can also upload an image of an item, such as a web screenshot, and ask ChatGPT to try it on for them. The process is designed to be intuitive, removing the friction that traditionally accompanies online clothing purchases, where the gap between product photography and personal reality often leads to disappointment and returns.
Favorites and the Expanding Shopping Toolkit
The second new option, Favorites, lets users save products they discover to a Library within the app so they can return to them later. These items are saved alongside the try on images, creating a personalized visual archive of potential purchases. This integration is subtle but significant. It transforms ChatGPT from a transient conversational tool into a persistent shopping companion, one that remembers user preferences and builds a history of considered items.
OpenAI said that ChatGPT can help users shop in other ways as well. For instance, a user could describe a style they would like to try, then ask the assistant to shop for the pieces needed to complete the look. Alternatively, a user could upload photos of celebrities’ outfits and ask ChatGPT to find the items they are wearing that are available for purchase. This latter capability sees the assistant moving into territory that Pinterest and Google have dominated in recent years, namely the role of fashion inspiration and discovery engine that converts browsing into sales for online retailers.
A Crowded and Competitive Landscape
Whether ChatGPT will become people’s first choice for this type of activity, however, remains an open question. The competition is formidable. Google launched its own virtual try on feature last year, leveraging its deep integration with Google Shopping and its vast index of retail data. Pinterest has spent years refining its visual search and recommendation algorithms, building a dedicated user base that turns to the platform specifically for fashion discovery. Amazon, meanwhile, remains the default destination for millions of shoppers, and its own AI powered fitting tools are continuously evolving.
OpenAI’s entry into this space is less about novelty and more about consolidation. By embedding shopping features directly into ChatGPT, the company is betting that users will prefer the convenience of a single, conversational interface over juggling multiple specialized apps. The success of this bet will depend on whether the virtual try on experience feels genuinely helpful or merely gimmicky, and whether users trust OpenAI with their personal images and shopping preferences.
The Broader Implications
The launch of these features also raises important questions about the future of e commerce and the role of AI intermediaries. If ChatGPT becomes a primary gateway for product discovery and evaluation, it could shift bargaining power away from retailers and toward the platform that controls the customer relationship. Retailers may find themselves competing for visibility within ChatGPT’s recommendations, much as they once competed for placement on Google search results or Amazon product listings.
For now, OpenAI is proceeding cautiously, framing these features as experiments. But the direction of travel is clear. The company is methodically building out a suite of capabilities that transform ChatGPT from a tool for answering questions into an active participant in the consumer economy. The fitting room, it seems, is just the beginning.
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