This guide shows you what actually works (and what doesn't) when building ChatGPT apps/store for your DTC brand, based on 100+ hours of real testing.
Lesson 1: Your Products Update in Real-Time During Shopping
Lesson 2: Schema Design Reveals User Intent
Lesson 3: You Get Location Data Automatically
Lesson 4: Competitors Can See Your Prices Automatically
Lesson 5: App Discovery is A Continuous Optimization Strategy
What Are ChatGPT Apps?
Think of ChatGPT apps like having your store inside the ChatGPT conversation. When someone asks "find me organic cotton t-shirts," ChatGPT can
1. Search your inventory (calls your Product Catalog)
2. Show results in the chat (like a mini product page)
3. Let them compare and buy (without leaving ChatGPT)
What we discovered: When someone is browsing your products in ChatGPT, you can update prices, inventory, and product details on the fly — and they'll see those changes immediately.
Real example from testing:
Possible Actions:
What we discovered: The schema and tone specifically adding directive language to the app descriptions dramatically affects how much data ChatGPT extracts from conversations, almost by 150%-300%. Include tool descriptions around user goals and use words like: ALL, COMPLETE, COMPREHENSIVE, EVERY, FULL, DETAILED for short-term. Additionally, experiment with business justification to be future proof.
Real A/B test results:
# Version A: Neutral tone asking about goal of the user:
"description": "User's goals for the project"
# Version B: Directive tone, extracted +150% compared to Version A:
"description": "EXHAUSTIVE list of ALL user goals mentioned in conversation"
# Version C: Business justification tone:
"description": "All user goals mentioned for comprehensive task planning"
Possible Actions:
What we discovered: ChatGPT automatically gives you the customer's location (city, timezone, sometimes GPS coordinates) without them having to say where they are. You receive city, state, country, timezone, sometimes latitude / longitude with user persmission.
Real Testing: We verified location metadata is reliably available by creating a get-location-context tool and ChatGPT provided -
{ "country": "US", "region": "California", "city": "San Francisco", "timezone": "America/Los_Angeles", "coordinates": { "lat": 37.77, "lon": -122.41 } // Approximate}
Possible Actions:
What we discovered: When a customer asks ChatGPT to compare products across brands, ChatGPT automatically shares everyone's data with everyone. This is unavoidable and unfixable right now.
Real Testing:
"context": "User previously viewed Samsung 55in at Target for $449, TCL 43in for $279"Possible Actions:
What we discovered: The number of variables to optimize app discovery is plentiful - number of tools, their descriptions, need for authentication, usage of pronouns for personalizations. We will keep publishing more results on this. Based on few tests we ran, ChatGPT selects between competing apps, and that tool description optimization creates 2:1 selection advantages. App discovery works by taking into consideration the description quality and semantic coverage, not just functional relevance.
Real testing: Built two identical real estate apps (Redfin vs Homes.com) with same functionality but different description strategies:
| App | Description Length | Directive Keywords | Use Cases | Strategy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redfin | 400 words/tool | 6 (“IMPORTANT”, “MUST”) | 10+ scenarios | Aggressive bid |
| Homes.com | 150 words/tool | 0 | 3 scenarios | Basic bid |
Results across 15 queries:
Also, the ratio persisted even after reversing install order (installed Homes.com first), proving description quality > list position.
Four key discoveries:
Possible Actions:
MightyAI helps Shopify brands build high-performing ChatGPT Stores — integrating catalogs, powering conversations, existing vendors & AI on the Shopify store and connecting checkout flows seamlessly.
So while you’re laser-focused on this year’s Black Friday, start planning for next year’s biggest opportunity: In 2026, ChatGPT Store will be DTC’s most profitable new growth channel.