AI Chatbots Are Recommending Fake Shopping Sites, Study Finds

At a glance

A study found that asking AI chatbots where to buy products can lead shoppers to fake or risky websites. The security firm Podqi tested ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity across 151 brands. The findings matter ahead of the holiday shopping season.

Key points

1. 1

   Answers included fake sites impersonating real retailers, sites selling knockoffs, and old brand domains taken over by others.

2. 2

   Risky sites appeared in 4% of Gemini's answers, 8% of ChatGPT's, and 15% of Perplexity's.

3. 3

   ChatGPT warned users about risky sites most often, in 24% of cases.

4. 4

   Smaller brands were affected more often than large ones.

Why it matters

Shoppers who enter personal or card details on a recommended site could be harmed, so checking the site before buying is important.