You can now make purchases directly through ChatGPT. According to a Wall Street Journal article, that poses a risk for retailers. And I would agree.

(Source: "ChatGPT Should Make Retailers Nervous")

Every company should be wary when someone tries to get between them and their customer base. This is not to say that every middleman is bad; it's to say that when there is a middleman, you need to ask yourself what value they bring and what you might lose along the way.

The take-away lessons for retailers:

1/ This would be a good time to reinforce your customer relationships. I don't mean a blanket marketing campaign or a couple of coupons. You need to demonstrate real value and explain why people should buy directly from you. (Take a page from the airline loyalty program book. They have this down to a science.)

2/ If ChatGPT offers a better shopping experience than your own website, that's on you. If you're like most retailers, you can start by improving your site's search functionality.

3/ It's time to rethink your AI efforts. While you're juggling ill-advised, low-ROI vanity projects driven by Corporate FOMO, the AI vendors are constantly exploring ways to make money with this technology.