Did ChatGPT Just Deliver the Final Blow to Google? VIEW IN BROWSER BY ANDY SWAN, FOUNDER, LIKEFOLIO “Food near me” Those three simple words you’ve typed into a search bar countless times are the lifeblood of Google’s (GOOGL) $198 billion ad empire. Hundreds of millions of people turn to Google to search for “top,” “best,” or “near me.” They click through the results. And they hit buy – every single day. That transactional funnel is the most valuable real estate on the internet. And Google was the sole owner. Until this week… When ChatGPT declared all-out war on Google’s territory. Here’s the one move that could take down the internet goliath for good – and the instant winners you need to know today. ChatGPT Just Broke Google’s “Untouchable” Grip on Search Google’s search market share started crumbling from the moment ChatGPT launched. It was game over as soon as consumers realized they could get direct answers, instantly, with no scrolling or ads. No wonder Google scrambled to rush out an AI search feature of its own. Why use Google otherwise? Unless, of course, you’re looking for that “best” product to buy or “top” restaurant near you. Those types of searches were Google’s last remaining safety net. Something you simply couldn’t do inside a ChatGPT conversation. Until now. OpenAI launched in-app shopping inside ChatGPT this week, and we can already see Google losing its grip. 
Source: FirstPageSage For the first time, users can ask GPT for product ideas, get personalized recommendations, and buy the item without ever touching Google or Amazon.com (AMZN). 
Source: X Ask GPT for a product – “running shoes under $150,” “best travel mug,” “birthday gifts for a six-year-old” – and you’ll now be able to buy the specific products you’re looking for inside the chat. OpenAI partnered with online payment platform Stripe to make it all happen much the same way it does on Amazon, Instacart (CART), or eBay (EBAY). No links, no extra clicks, and no reentering payment details. The ChatGPT integration starts with Etsy (ETSY). (More on that stock in a minute.) But basically, you can buy everything from handmade crafts to mainstream fashion there these days. Purchases are limited to a single item at a time. For now. But soon, the feature will extend to more than one million Shopify (SHOP) storefronts. That includes well-known cosmetics brands like Glossier and ultra-popular athleisurewear from SKIMS, Spanx, and Vuori. Multi-item carts and international expansion are on the roadmap, too. We knew AI-powered search would eventually take down Google. As we told you back in June: “Google’s search business is built on a habit. That habit is dying – and it’s time investors start pivoting to the next era of winners.” Google’s last claim to search dominance is now gone. Pinpointing the next era of winners is the only path forward. With a consumer insights machine capable of tapping into the collective consciousness of America, we can show you TODAY which stocks are most likely to win this war – and which could fade into irrelevance. How do we know? Because we’ve seen how this goes down before… | Recommended Link | | | | Every stock has a unique volatility footprint – like DNA – that signals when to buy and sell. Financial elites held this mathematical advantage until now. This revolutionary technology democratizes what billionaires have known for years, turning even the worst stocks into potential winners. Click here to see it in action. |  | | History Shows What Happens Next In 2019 and 2020, Meta Platforms (META) rolled out similar in-app shopping on Facebook and Instagram that made it possible to buy items without leaving the apps. It wasn’t long before spending on social media ads eclipsed search in 2023… and META unlocked billions in new ad revenue. 
Source: WARC Media Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping ads reached a $20 billion annual run-rate by late 2024. OpenAI is trying to execute the same model with Stripe – and e-commerce giant Shopify – at its core. And you better believe companies will have every incentive to integrate their catalogs into ChatGPT as quickly as possible. No merchant wants to risk being invisible at the point of sale, especially when consumers are presented with side-by-side options. We see the marketplace moving toward a world where “if you’re not in GPT’s catalog, you don’t exist to the customer.” The Stakes Go Far Beyond Transaction Fees Transaction fees are just the tip of the iceberg. For investors, the critical battle to watch will be over ad dollars. Google earns the majority of its advertising revenue from transactional search queries, the same territory GPT is now entering. Merchants will see conversion rates inside GPT. They’ll naturally start pushing for promoted placement. If even a single-digit percentage of those dollars start to shift toward GPT-native ads, the financial impact will be enormous. Which begs the question: Which platforms will be looking to plug into GPT’s ecosystem? The answer will help us spot the real winners. With that in mind, here are the top names we’re watching in the war for online purchases. We’ll show you the near-term losers (looking at you, Google), the instant winners with soaring Social Heat Scores, and the wildcards. The Near-Term Losers Alphabet/Google (GOOGL) ChatGPT’s in-app shopping launch is a direct shot at Google. When buyers ask ChatGPT for products and complete orders inside the chat, they will bypass Google’s paid links and shopping placements entirely. Search revenue is Google’s bread and butter. It makes up the majority of Alphabet’s revenue pie. Even a small diversion in this category could hit its bottom line. Anything more, and Google is toast. 
Source: Visual Capitalist We’ll be watching to see if Google rolls out rapid upgrades to its own AI shopping flow. If it can pivot quickly enough, it might survive. Amazon.com (AMZN) This one pains us because Amazon is a long-time LikeFolio favorite. But the fact is that ChatGPT can now start the buying decision before a shopper ever reaches Amazon. If orders route to third-party brands through GPT’s Instant Checkout, Amazon loses initiation and the ad impressions tied to it. Amazon has the means to defend its position: It will lean on Prime’s convenience (with more than 200 million members), its e-commerce platform Buy with Prime, and media-commerce ties. We’ll be leaning on our data to track Amazon Ads growth, Buy with Prime adoption, and Alexa shopping upgrades that keep initiation inside Amazon. The Instant Winners Etsy (ETSY) This week’s launch of in-app shopping handed Etsy instant exposure to GPT’s 700 million weekly users and made it easier than ever for consumers to buy from Etsy’s more than 5 million U.S. sellers. Etsy benefits anytime a shopper describes an exact need and receives specific items that match that request. For smaller Etsy shops, in-chat checkout removes a common failure point. It keeps the buyer in one flow – from product discovery to payment (making it more likely they pull out that credit card). Meanwhile, inventory that used to require hunting across links can now reach buyers instantly. We’ll be watching our consumer data closely for any significant impact to Etsy demand trends and social mentions. The stock is already in the “bullish” zone with a Social Heat Score of 65.7: 
Shopify (SHOP) As soon as the Shopify integration goes live, ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout will create a fresh customer acquisition doorway that lives inside the conversation. Orders will flow straight into the Shopify admin platform that merchants already use, so there’s no significant disruption to operations. Plus, adoption can happen quickly. Buyers can complete purchases without hopping across pages. That means the same number of search inquiries can deliver higher conversion rates for Shopify merchants. With a fresh revenue stream on the way, Shopify will benefit directly. The stock is already logging a bullish 70.4 (out of 100) Social Heat Score – suggesting upside ahead: 
One Secondary Winner to Track Pinterest (PINS) Digital mood board Pinterest already thrives as a product discovery engine. More than half of Pinterest users view the social app as a place to shop. Heck, 85% of weekly U.S. “pinners” have made a purchase straight from a brand they saw on Pinterest. The only problem: Checkout is clunky because the buying happens on other websites. If Pinterest integrated directly with ChatGPT’s shopping experience, however, that pesky checkout issue would be resolved. And its product catalogs could gain new reach inside the chat interface. That one critical change could boost advertiser returns and improve the value of Pinterest’s shopping tools… if it happens. PINS is a purely speculative play for now. But the potential for a GPT integration to boost its profits could be game-changing. Keep this one on your radar. The Wildcard to Watch Meta Platforms (META) Meta is currently winding down native, in-app checkout for its own Shops platform and pushing merchants back to external checkout. It’s an experiment worth watching as OpenAI aims to execute its own in-app experience. Why is Meta reversing a feature that made it billions, you ask? We think the decision reflects a mix of tough realities: - Merchants want full control over checkout and customer data
- Returns and disputes create support costs the social apps don’t want to carry
- Payment liability and tax handling get messy when you’re dealing with hundreds of millions of users
There could also be a strategic angle here: Meta’s strength now lies in Reels, creators, and Advantage+ automation as a demand engine. The company may prefer to price that reach correctly and let others “close” the sale. But if GPT proves that a leaner, partner-first model converts better, Meta can still feed the top of the sales funnel. It can also take more ad dollars without owning the register. We’ll be looking for any Meta updates that enrich its product catalog. If it introduces creative formats built to hand off into chats cleanly, that could be a signal. The Bottom Line When Open AI launched in-app shopping inside ChatGPT, it declared war on Google’s last stronghold. Now, 700 million weekly users can now ask, choose, and pay inside one conversation. The feature is still in its early phase – covering just Etsy and single-item purchases. But soon, it will extend to millions of Shopify merchants as well. The writing is on the wall. If generative AI was the beginning of the end for Google, Instant Checkout may just be the final blow. - With their direct plug to GPT, ETSY and SHOP will be the instant winners.
- Now that consumers can bypass traditional search altogether, GOOGL and AMZN could both be at risk.
- For PINS, an integration with ChatGPT could be game-changing. Add this one to your watchlist.
- And while META works on its own in-app shopping experience, keep an eye on what the company does next.
Generative AI tools like GPT are transforming the e-commerce landscape. And as they do, we’ll be listening to the most powerful yet underrated force in the market: the consumer, whose spending drives nearly 70% of what happens in our economy. Our data will reveal where those consumers are spending in real time. And our Social Heat Score will separate the winners from the losers. To find out how you can gain access to our full Social Heat Score system – and track where consumer demand heads next for yourself – go here now. We update scores as the data changes. And with the third quarter ending this week, we’ve got a big update coming soon that you won’t want to miss. Until next time, 
Andy Swan
Founder, LikeFolio | 
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