In the ever-evolving landscape of digital marketing, few moments redefine the future. For me, a breakthrough happened on May 7, 2025. As an SEO specialist and e-commerce strategist, I witnessed a sale on my Shopify store, GrunXStore.com, that originated from an unexpected source: ChatGPT.
Yes, the AI chatbot from OpenAI had not only become a content creator or coding assistant – it had now entered the realm of product discovery and shopping referrals. In this blog, I’ll break down how this happened, what it means for the future of SEO and eCommerce, and how businesses like yours can prepare for this new era.
The Moment of Discovery: ChatGPT as a Referral Source
While reviewing orders on Shopify, one entry stood out. It showed the following UTM parameters:
The sale included multiple products from my store and was tracked using Bluedart shipping. The referral came through OpenAI’s ChatGPT interface. My analytics confirmed it: the customer had found us via a ChatGPT conversation.
This wasn’t a fluke. It was a signal.
How ChatGPT Is Becoming a Shopping Channel
In 2025, OpenAI rolled out enhanced shopping capabilities within ChatGPT. Product search results now include curated recommendations, price details, images, and direct links to merchant websites. When a user clicks on one of these links, ChatGPT appends UTM tracking codes like:
utm_source=chatgpt.com
This allows platforms like Shopify, Google Analytics, and other tools to track purchases driven by ChatGPT. If you’ve seen this in your store recently, you’re part of an emerging trend.
Why This Matters for SEO and eCommerce Professionals
The implications of this are profound:
- Search Redefined: ChatGPT isn’t just answering questions anymore – it’s curating shopping experiences.
- SEO Meets Conversational AI: Traditional search ranking still matters, but now your content and product data must also appeal to AI models.
- New Conversion Channel: ChatGPT becomes a top-of-funnel discovery tool that also drives bottom-of-funnel sales.
As an SEO specialist, optimizing for ChatGPT discoverability is now a critical piece of the puzzle.
How to Prepare Your Store for ChatGPT Referrals
If you’re running a Shopify or other eCommerce store, here are action steps:
- Ensure Your Site Is Crawlable: OpenAI uses its own crawler (OAI-SearchBot). Don’t block it in robots.txt.
- Provide Clean Product Data: Titles, descriptions, prices, and schema markup must be well-structured.
- Submit Product Feeds (Optional): OpenAI has invited merchants to submit product feeds for better indexing.
- Watch UTM Tags: Monitor for utm_source=chatgpt.com in your order tracking to identify incoming ChatGPT traffic.
Global and Indian Brands Already Exploring This
- Klarna integrated its shopping plugin into ChatGPT for curated recommendations.
- Myntra (India) launched MyFashionGPT, offering outfit suggestions through AI.
- PVR Inox lets users book tickets and food through a ChatGPT-powered WhatsApp assistant.
- Nilkamal Furniture is turning WhatsApp chats into real product orders using generative AI.
These use cases prove that conversational commerce isn’t a buzzword , it’s a business channel.
Conclusion: Early Mover Advantage
ChatGPT commerce is still in its infancy, but it’s moving fast. The UTM-tagged order I received from ChatGPT wasn’t just a sale – it was a glimpse into the future. A future where SEO professionals must not only optimize for Google, but for GPT-driven conversations.
If you’re a brand, marketer, or store owner, now is the time to get ahead.
For those of us already seeing traffic and sales from ChatGPT, we’re not just watching the future unfold – we’re participating in it.
