Etsy launches beta app in ChatGPT for conversational shopping despite prior Instant Checkout integration falling short

Etsy launched a beta version of its app in OpenAI's ChatGPT, allowing users to tag @Etsy and provide prompts to generate product results that can be compared or opened on the Etsy website. Etsy Chief Product and Technology Officer Rafe Colburn wrote in a blog post that the ChatGPT app “offers shoppers a deeper view into sellers' items” and is also “poised to give us earlier insight into the moments Etsy is relevant in a shopper's journey, opening the door to understanding how and when shoppers choose to use conversational search.” The launch comes after Etsy's previous integration with ChatGPT's Instant Checkout feature, which launched in September with Etsy as the first partner, was reported by Modern Retail in March to have been pulled back after Etsy and other retail collaborators saw limited sales volume. Etsy is also using what it learns from the ChatGPT integration to design its own conversational shopping experience, including a Gifting Assistant feature currently in beta on the Etsy website.