Summary
A new study by IP protection firm Podqi, shared exclusively with The Verge, found that shoppers using AI chatbots to research products or find places to buy items could be directed to imposters and other risky websites. The researchers prompted ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity with a handful of shopping-related questions involving a selection of products. The source snippet is cut off, so it does not give further details on the number of queries, the specific sites flagged, or the full results for each chatbot.
AI-assisted summary based on the listed source.
What happened
Shoppers using AI chatbots to research products or find places to buy items could be directed to imposters and other risky websites, a new study found. The study conducted by IP protection firm Podqi and shared exclusively with The Verge prompted ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity with a handful of shopping-related...
Why it matters
Consumers who rely on chatbots for purchase decisions could land on fraudulent or unsafe stores without realizing it. Retailers and brands may face impersonation risks that their own customers encounter through AI answers. Watch for responses from OpenAI, Google, and Perplexity on how their citation and link sources are checked.
Signal Intelligence
Signal Strength 95%
Technical label SOURCE-BACKED
Public Interest 48
Category RESEARCH
Reader Depth TECHNICAL
Event context 1 source
Signal Strength reflects source quality, relevance, freshness and evidence. Public Interest helps organize discovery; it is not proof of truth.
Public Interest components
Recognizable Entity Score 84
Practical Impact Score 20
Novelty Interest Score 72
Consequence Score 18
Curiosity Score 0
Shareability Score 63
