Online shoppers face confusion as ChatGPT and Google AI differ on brand recommendations

Online shopping powered by artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT can prove “confusing” for users, owing to a lack of consistency in brand recommendations, according to a new report.

The study, conducted by BrightEdge, analysed thousands of shopping-related queries across several AI platforms and found frequent disagreements over which brands to suggest. In 61.9 per cent of cases, user queries produced conflicting recommendations depending on the AI tool used. Strikingly, ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews and Google’s AI Mode in Search agreed on the same brand in just 17 per cent of queries.

Google’s AI Overviews was the most likely to lead with brand mentions, doing so in 36.8 per cent of cases. Yet overall, the report highlights significant inconsistencies between platforms. The disparities were most pronounced in healthcare, where disagreement reached 68.5 per cent, followed by education at 62.1 per cent and finance at 57.9 per cent.

Why users may be left confused The analysis suggests that AI chatbots approach shopping-related queries in very different ways. As a result, someone looking to purchase a shirt or pair of jeans might need to consult at least two platforms to get a fuller picture of which brands are worth considering.

ChatGPT was found to typically provide fewer brand options, while Google’s AI tends to list more than twice as many. This means shoppers seeking guidance may need to cross-check between the tools. Some consumers might prefer ChatGPT’s pared-down suggestions—around 2.5 times fewer than Google’s—because it feels less overwhelming. Others, however, could argue that Google’s wider range increases the chance of finding the right brand.

According to the research, ChatGPT recommends an average of 2.37 brands per query, compared with 6.02 suggested by Google’s AI Overviews. Google’s AI Mode, in contrast, lags behind with just 1.59 brands per query. Notably, ChatGPT refrains from naming brands in 43.4 per cent of cases, while Google’s AI Overviews omit brand mentions in only 9.1 per cent of queries.

The transparency gap Online shopping is rarely straightforward, with buyers often relying on reviews and expert commentary before making a purchase decision. Here too, the report found a marked difference in how ChatGPT and Google’s AI handle transparency.

ChatGPT, despite naming 2.37 brands on average per query, provides only 0.73 citations, offering limited context as to why those brands are recommended. By contrast, Google’s AI Mode supplies over 14 citations for six brand mentions—2.4 times more citations than brands—making its recommendations appear considerably more robust.

The findings suggest that while Google’s AI Mode is stronger at explaining its reasoning, shoppers may still find it useful to cross-reference with ChatGPT to make a balanced and well-informed choice. However, doing so could also add another layer of inconvenience to an already complex decision-making process.