OpenAI is deepening its retail presence with the upcoming launch of a Target-branded ChatGPT shopping app. The beta version will let shoppers request ideas, browse items, build multi‑item baskets, order food and check out directly within ChatGPT. The move follows OpenAI’s recent rollout of dedicated retail apps for brands such as Canva, Coursera, Figma, Expedia, Spotify, and Zillow, and its new Instant Checkout feature that enables purchases from retailers like Etsy and Shopify. Target also plans to deploy ChatGPT Enterprise to its 18,000 employees for supply‑chain forecasting, store‑process optimization, and AI‑driven customer support. Read more →

Boop, a new travel‑tech startup founded by former Meta and Microsoft AR/VR lead Nancy Li Smith, is rolling out an AI‑driven platform that transforms real‑world trip data into shareable, bookable itineraries. By capturing users' location and photo metadata, the app creates shoppable travel guides that friends and creators can copy and personalize. Boop also embeds affiliate links, allowing creators to earn commissions on bookings. Backed by investors from TripAdvisor, Marriott and Expedia, the company raised a pre‑seed round and is launching on a mobile invite‑only basis with a public waitlist. Read more →

AI chatbots and e‑commerce giants are racing to let consumers hand off shopping tasks to virtual agents, but current prototypes require extensive user input, operate slowly, and often produce errors. OpenAI, Google, Amazon and others are negotiating data‑sharing and fee structures with retailers while testing limited‑scope features such as instant checkout for Walmart items and AI‑filled checkout forms. Industry executives acknowledge that true “agentic” shopping experiences remain elusive, leaving shoppers to manage most of the process themselves this holiday season. Read more →

OpenAI has rolled out a suite of new app integrations for ChatGPT, allowing users to connect accounts from services such as Spotify, Booking.com, Canva, Coursera, Expedia, Figma, and Zillow. By linking these accounts, users can ask ChatGPT to perform tasks like creating playlists, searching for hotels, designing graphics, finding online courses, planning trips, generating diagrams, and locating homes—all within the chat interface. The company notes that connections share data with the model, prompting users to review permissions, and offers a simple way to disconnect apps. Additional partners—including DoorDash, OpenTable, Target, Uber, and Walmart—are slated to join later, with the rollout currently limited to the United States and Canada. Read more →

OpenAI is positioning ChatGPT as an operating system, turning the conversational AI into a central hub that can launch and control third‑party services. Users can address apps directly within the chat, asking Spotify to create playlists or Expedia to locate flights, illustrating a seamless integration that blurs the line between chat and traditional app experiences. This shift is framed as both a smart business move to own the platform and a practical way to make the product more intuitive for everyday tasks. Read more →