Three Years Since ChatGPT Launched

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you Datable readers, and Happy Birthday to ChatGPT!

Three years ago yesterday, ChatGPT launched (Nov 30, 2022).

As Ethan Mollick pointed out this morning, we are witnessing the "fastest adoption of an economically consequential technology in human history." He is right. However, looking at the charts and the adoption curves misses the visceral reality of what is happening as the holiday season begins.

The adoption of ChatGPT signaled the expansion of the search bar into a living dialogue.

We are moving away from task-oriented work towards actual assistance. Thousands of threads in life can now be revisited easily, with no loss of fidelity.

The $11.8 Billion Signal

The headlines from Black Friday tell a story most retailers are still trying to decode. Reuters reported a record $11.8 billion in online spending, explicitly driven by AI.

The big number matters less than the behavior behind it.

People have stopped searching the way they used to. The era of typing "best noise-cancelling headphones under $300" into Google and opening twelve tabs is dying, replaced by conversation.

Walmart confirmed this, noting that over 20% of its traffic is now coming from ChatGPT referrals. One in five people arriving at the world's largest retailer didn't start at a search engine or the retailer's homepage. They began by asking an intelligence for advice.

They used AI to find the perfect gift or offer. Integrated with Shopify and others, the AI provided a solution rather than a simple link.

The Workflow Shift (A Personal Note)

I have refactored my entire workflow into Antigravity, a system built on Gemini 3 Pro.

Gemini 3 Pro is insanely good. And Nano Banana Pro's capabilities are astounding as well. I had a meeting in Akron, Ohio, just before the Thanksgiving break, where I had Nano take a photo of me and put me on stage at the venue where I was speaking (which I’d never been inside before), dressed in an inflatable turkey suit. The image was incredible.

I still giggle every time I say "Nana Banana Pro" (the new image and drawing model), but the capabilities are serious.

The friction is gone, and the distance between "I have an idea" and "here is the execution" has collapsed. Whether coding, writing, or planning, I am collaborating with the computer rather than operating on it.

This shift changes how we interface with information, extending well beyond simple productivity gains. The interface is leaving the screen entirely.

Grok, Alexa, and the Voice Commerce Era

This trend extends beyond the laptop to the driveway.

Grok is now fully integrated into newer Tesla models, allowing drivers to discuss holiday gifts with their car while commuting. I tried it this weekend, and it still has a way to go. But you can clearly see how car rides, commutes, and school pickup-line-hell will soon be prime dialogue-driven search (pun intended).

"Grok, find me a vintage leather jacket for my brother, under $200, available for pickup near my office."

It relies entirely on voice commands, removing the need for screens and scrolling.

The same transition is happening in the home. If you haven't updated your Echo Dots recently, the "Alexa Plus" upgrade has transformed that system from a glorified egg timer into a genuine agent. The limitations of the old Alexa system are gone, replaced by something that actually understands context and intent.

The Evolution of Search

We are moving from an era of Search (you look for things) to an era of Dialogue (you work with agents to get things).

For retailers, this is a massive shift. If I trust Grok or ChatGPT to pick the "best" option… then SEO strategy, end-cap displays, and carefully optimized landing pages change completely.

The new optimization is whether the AI trusts your business or brand.

Three years ago, we marveled that the computer could [finally] talk back. Today, we hand over our credit cards and let it drive.

Today is Cyber Monday. As the data rolls in tomorrow, it will be fascinating to see just how much of that spend was driven not by search bars, but by dialogue.

Happy birthday, ChatGPT. You changed how we buy as much as you changed how we write.