AI Shopping: How GPT Changed My Buying Process Forever

Remember when "Google it" was the automatic response to any purchasing decision? Those days might be numbered. We're witnessing a fundamental shift in consumer behavior that could reshape digital marketing forever.

I recently bought a washing machine without using Google once—not for research, price comparison, or even finding the store. Instead, I turned to ChatGPT, which recommended models, found the best prices in Australia, and even searched for coupon codes. I completed the entire purchase journey without encountering a single Google ad or search result. This wasn't a conscious choice to avoid Google; it simply felt like the most efficient path.

This pattern extends beyond personal purchases into business decisions too. When evaluating technologies like digital asset management platforms, AI provides comprehensive comparisons without the need to visit multiple websites or wade through marketing fluff and questionable reviews. The implications for advertisers are enormous—where will they place ads if consumers bypass traditional search engines? Will "Large Language Model Optimization" replace SEO as companies adapt to having their products recommended by AI systems? Could ChatGPT introduce its own advertising platform?

As our behaviors continue evolving across platforms like Meta and TikTok (which some of us still regularly delete to reclaim our attention spans), the digital marketing landscape faces unprecedented disruption. The question isn't just how consumers will adapt to AI tools, but how advertising platforms will transform to reach us in this new paradigm. What do your AI-assisted purchasing journeys look like? We'd love to hear how your habits are changing too.

The Digital Horizons Podcast is hosted by:

James Walker - Managing Director WHD
Brian Hastings - Managing Director Nous

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
At what point are Google going to try and continue
to get ads in front of peoplethroughout this AI buying
process, which is completelychanging?

Speaker 2 (00:08):
It's really quite incredible.

Speaker 1 (00:09):
I'm changing my user behavior as well, I messaged my
mate who does the SEO stuff andI was like I didn't even use a
single search that you couldhave ever got attributed to on
this kind of thing.
When I got back I realized mywashing machine was not working.
After I'd done this process Irealized what the f?
Just I'd completely changed mynormal approach to how I would
go about buying something yeahso I've got onto chat gpt.

(00:30):
I've said what I was looking for, got recommendations via chat
gpt, then I asked it to go findme the best prices within
australia for the model that Idecided to go for.
Then I asked it for to searchit for confine a coupon codes
for that store that I wasplanning to buy it from, and
then I just directly typed inthe url, so direct traffic
straight to the website.
I probably may have evenclicked off from the chat gpt

(00:51):
link and purchased.
Yeah, I didn't use a googleshopping ad.
I didn't use google search.
I didn't use it during any partof that buying journey, which
was a completely.
I've never done that before andI actually, I guess, being that
we're sort of we're so involvedin this kind of thing um, in
terms of work, I messaged mymate who does the seo stuff and
I was like fuck, I didn't evenuse a single search that you
could have ever got attributedto.
On this kind of thing, or Icouldn't have put an ad in front

(01:13):
of anybody during this wholeyeah thing, I found my own way
through.
I did without without usinggoogle, which is the first time
I'd ever done that where and wasconscious of it, and I was like
this has changed the whole way.
I probably will buy things inthe future.

Speaker 2 (01:24):
Yeah, I'm using it for business tech decisions as
well.
I'm like recommend a DAMplatform or like a digital asset
management platform and in atable, put their pricing
estimates per month based offusers, the competitor
differences between each of them, what they offer Basically, do

(01:45):
my full research process andhelp me identify which is the
best and most well-reviewed, butalso most relevant platform to
my needs, and I just got toavoid going to the sites and
sifting through all the bullshitand seeing all the fake reviews
.
It references cap terror.
It references that.
The fake reviews, yeah, like Imean, it references cap terror,

(02:06):
yeah, it references that.
But yeah and um, but yeah,those fake reviews, you sort of
it can pull it out and give asummary of well, people have
said that this is a bit of aproblem and I can delve then
into the actual problems.
And it feels like it's lazy onthe surface because you're not
doing the old-fashioned way.
But if you find you don't trusta response in chat, for
instance, you can still go backand do a bit more of that deeper

(02:27):
research.
But it's more often right thanwrong in this sort of product
review space and this going andfinding multiple features and
pulling them together.
It's really quite incredible.
I'm changing my user behavioras well.
Then I'm spending my free timein platforms like Meta and
TikTok.
I still delete it once everytwo weeks to try to regain my

(02:49):
attention span.
I'm currently in a deleted phase.
I'm better than everybody elseat the moment because I don't
have TikTok Keen to see how wecontinue to change our buying
behavior, also our researchbehavior, within these platforms
, especially with theintroduction, I should say, of
more AI tools in Google.
Will I find a switch back toGoogle more as they start to

(03:11):
introduce it?

Speaker 1 (03:15):
And we'll watch this space.
Well, I want to understandwhere I'm going to be putting my
ads.
I'm thinking about more as anagency guy who obviously we run
a lot of Google ad campaigns forour clients.
I'm like, well, I didn't get achance in that whole thing to
see an ad.
So at what point are Googlegoing to try and, I guess,
continue to get ads in front ofpeople throughout this AI buying
process, which is completelychanging?

Speaker 2 (03:34):
And is the sort of LLMO, or large language model
optimization, rather than searchengine optimization, going to
be even more important to servethe answers in your research in
these GPT models, rather thanserving an ad or is GPT going to
bring out its own ad platform?

Speaker 1 (03:52):
Because I mean the thing about revenue-wise.
I mean they've got theattention, they've got the user
base.
Maybe they're going to startserving ads within ChatGPT and
that's where the shift willbecome.
But yeah, as I said, it was anotable shift in my own behavior
, which was something thatwasn't intentional.
It was just like this is whatmy brain went to All right, I've
got to buy a washing machine.
This is what I'm going to do.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
Yeah, no, the end of Googling it.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
No, I'm nice on it, All right.
Well, let's keep checking in onthis and see how we go.