Research: ChatGPT and home goods › Furniture
What ChatGPT recommends when shoppers ask about furniture
We took 13 US stores on Shopify that mainly sell furniture and asked ChatGPT 10 shopper questions for each one, written from the store’s own catalog: its products, its prices, the occasions people buy for. ChatGPT answered 126 of the 130 questions.
The short version
- The store was named in 11% of the answers about its own products (14 of 126). Across all home goods it was 12%.
- 9 of the 13 stores were never named, in any of their 10 questions.
- ChatGPT cited web pages in 91% of answers.
- Big retailers (Home Depot, 2Modern, Lumens) and design magazines (Homes & Gardens) were the most cited sites. A furniture brand competes with every listing of a similar piece on them.
Questions we asked
A few of them, exactly as asked:
- “What are the best modular sectional sofas for a modern living room under $3000?”
- “Best outdoor sectional sofas for a coastal patio that can withstand salt air and UV exposure?”
- “Best designer dining chairs in the $500-900 range for a mid-century modern home?”
- “Where can I buy quality outdoor dining sets in the $4000-6000 range?”
- “Best investment-quality sectionals that will last 20+ years for a family room?”
Sites ChatGPT cited most
Number of answers that cited each site at least once. We leave out the stores we checked.
| Site | Type | Answers |
|---|---|---|
| Home Depot homedepot.com | retailer | 19 |
| Lumens lumens.com | retailer | 12 |
| 2Modern 2modern.com | retailer | 12 |
| Homes & Gardens homesandgardens.com | magazine | 11 |
| IKEA ikea.com | another brand’s store | 10 |
| 1stDibs 1stdibs.com | vintage and design marketplace | 9 |
| West Elm westelm.com | another brand’s store | 9 |
| AptDeco aptdeco.com | resale marketplace | 9 |
| Living Spaces livingspaces.com | retailer | 8 |
| Pinterest pinterest.com | social | 7 |
What a furniture brand can do with this
- Put the dimensions in text, not only in an image: width, depth, height, seat height, and what fits through a door.
- Name the materials and the build. Frame wood, joinery, fill, fabric, outdoor rating (UV, salt air, rust).
- Say how long it lasts and what is covered. Warranty years and lead time are exactly what “investment piece” questions ask about.
- Be where AI reads. If you sell through 2Modern, Lumens or Perigold, keep those listings as complete as your own site.
Limits
- Small sample: 13 stores and 126 answers. Read the numbers as a direction, not a precise rate.
- One answer per question, from OpenAI’s API (GPT-4.1 mini with web search, US location). ChatGPT’s answers change from run to run and week to week.
- Mixed catalogs: questions follow each store’s catalog, so some touch neighbouring categories.
- We do not publish the names of the stores we checked. Full method: main study.
Other categories: Bedding and bath · Tableware and kitchen · Candles and home decor
Pickory asks AI your shoppers’ questions every week and shows who it names and why. A free one-time check for your store: getpickory.com.