Merchants relying on organic web discovery saw a sudden drop in ChatGPT Shopping visibility in July when analytics firm Profound recorded a rapid shift toward structured product feeds. In Profound’s July sample of 1,757,723 prompt runs, recommendations labeled “feed-integrated” rose from 8.26% to 61.54% on July 10 — and broader samples through early September put feed retrieval at roughly 65% of observed product recommendations.

How the change showed up for shops

Profound tracked 687 merchants that triggered Shopping results every day in early July. Comparing the three days before July 10 with the three days after, 450 merchants experienced at least a one-third decline in Shopping visibility; 67 merchants saw at least a one-third gain.

A statistical model built on 517 of those merchants explained 83% of the variation in visibility changes by measuring loss in web-search retrieval and gains in feed retrieval. Within Profound’s dataset, that association indicates feed-sourcing largely accounts for the observed swings — though the analysis covers tracked prompt runs rather than all shopper sessions.

Retrieval also concentrated on fewer merchants. References to the top 10 merchants climbed from 22.5% to 41.8%, while the pool of unique merchants referenced fell more than 20% (from 13,524 to 10,607). Profound estimates about 35% of July’s feed retrieval was tied to Shopify catalogs.

What likely caused the shift — and what’s confirmed

The timing coincides with OpenAI’s rollout of GPT‑5.6 on July 9; Profound attributes most July changes to that release. OpenAI’s public release notes do not explicitly link GPT‑5.6 to Shopping behavior, and the company has not confirmed causation.

OpenAI’s Help Center explains ChatGPT can select products using structured product data from data providers and from stores themselves, and that product results are “selected independently by ChatGPT and are not ads, nor influenced by any OpenAI partnerships.” Shopify stores already supply product data through Shopify Catalog; Etsy catalogs are connected; other retailers can apply for direct feed access (currently waitlisted). Feeds are ingested through OpenAI’s Agentic Commerce Protocol, which was extended to product discovery on March 24 and can accept feeds from providers such as Salesforce and Stripe.

Practical implications for retailers and marketers

Profound’s tracking suggests how product data reaches ChatGPT matters increasingly for Shopping visibility. Two immediate implications:

  • Sellers with feeds already integrated (notably Shopify and Etsy) may see an advantage over merchants who rely solely on web indexing.
  • Merchants without feed access face either applying for direct feed integration, using a supported feed provider, or waiting for OpenAI’s planned self-serve feed platform coming later this year.

Profound’s analysis does not show how ranking within results changes once feeds are used, nor does it measure conversion or sales impact. The observed shift also comes as OpenAI began a limited rollout of GPT‑6 Astra on September 3, so retrieval behavior could vary across model versions and over time.

What marketers should do now

Start by confirming how your product data reaches ChatGPT: verify Shopify and Etsy catalog integrations, and if you’re not connected, prepare feed application materials or evaluate supported feed providers. Audit feed completeness—price, availability, and structured attributes—because Profound expects the next phase of competition will focus on which feed fields are available, not just whether a feed exists.

Track impressions and referral traffic from ChatGPT Shopping over the coming weeks to see whether a feed advantage persists and which feed fields correlate with visibility.

What to watch next

Watch whether OpenAI confirms a causal link between its model updates and the feed shift, when the self-serve feed platform arrives, and whether feed reliance narrows or diversifies the set of merchants surfaced by ChatGPT Shopping.