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AI for online shopping: 58 real cases with prompts

58 source-checked cases in Shopping. Each shows what happened and the prompt.

  • Fill an Instacart cart for a risotto recipe with an AI agent: ChatGPT Dots did it, Gemini Spark frozeRecreated promptEvidence: Article or interviewPartial

    For PCMag, Ruben Circelli asked three agents to find J. Kenji López-Alt's no-stir risotto recipe, research the best version of each ingredient at the local Wegmans and add them to an Instacart cart. ChatGPT's Dots, once Instacart was connected, found the recipe, researched the ingredients and filled the cart without issue. Meta's Muse got there slowly, needed Circelli to log in and enter a verification code, and added saffron threads that aren't in the recipe. Gemini's Spark found the recipe and proposed ingredients but couldn't access the account, tried to take over Chrome and froze.

    ChatGPT Dots, Muse, Gemini Spark · Shopping · Source date:

  • Find furniture on Facebook Marketplace for a new apartment with Meta's Muse, while Dots got the accounts locked (partial)Recreated promptEvidence: Article or interviewPartial

    Scientific American's Mary Randolph was moving apartments and tested Meta's Muse (named Mark) and OpenAI's Dots (named Sam) for a week. Muse logged in to their Facebook account, searched Marketplace for couches, lamps and rugs, and could draft and send messages to sellers with their approval, managing the replies while they did other things. They now own a Muse-sourced dining table. When they gave Dots their Facebook login to do the same, Meta flagged it as a bot and temporarily locked their Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Later, Muse pushed them seven times in three days to join Target's membership program and buy a lamp on sale.

    Muse, ChatGPT Dots · Shopping · Source date:

  • Find the exact replacement part for a broken shaver tab from a photo and a voice note to ChatGPTRecreated promptEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly

    A small plastic tab broke on Michal Barodkin's Philips shaver after several years. Rather than replace the shaver, they sent ChatGPT a photo of the broken piece and described the problem in a voice message. It found the replacement part, with its Philips part number and a place to order it. It cost six dollars and they picked it up the next day.

    ChatGPT · Shopping · Source date:

  • Send four AI agents to get real car insurance quotes: Gemini and ChatGPT got none, Claude and Muse got five eachRecreated promptEvidence: Described by poster

    Thy Toeung needed to review their car insurance before their son turned 16. They made a data sheet listing every driver, vehicle and the cover they wanted, and asked Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Muse to act as their insurance-shopping agent and get real quotes from six reputable insurers. Gemini's auto-browse explained it couldn't use the websites and handed back a comparison table to fill in. ChatGPT took 2 hours and 279 messages across 12 attempts and got no quotes; Toeung believes sites such as Allstate, Nationwide and Liberty Mutual block AI agents. Claude ran for 3.3 hours and got 5 real quotes. Muse, on its free tier, used several sub-agents and got 5 quotes in about 20 minutes. Toeung switched insurer and got about twice the cover for around 40% of the previous price.

    Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Muse · Shopping · Source date:

  • Find the cheapest seats left for an opera, a sold-out-looking play and Hamilton with Meta's Muse checking the official sitesEvidence: Article or interviewBeginner-friendly

    PCWorld's Ben Patterson, a Manhattan theatre lover who can't afford Broadway every night, used Muse to hunt for ticket bargains. Asked how much tickets to Verdi's Macbeth at the Met were, it first gave a general web answer, but when asked to check the official site it opened a browser and found a $71 seat (including a $10 service charge) for a weekday evening, logged in and teed it up for checkout. Patterson cancelled, then had it go through every remaining performance of a limited-run Off-Broadway play, finding which had seats and the best price, $92.41. For Hamilton in the next 30 days it found a rear-mezzanine seat for a Saturday matinee at $222 all-in. Patterson didn't buy this time.

    Muse · Shopping · Source date:

  • Find out which astrophotography gear you actually need before spending a budget, with ClaudeRecreated promptEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly

    tonyarkles was curious about astrophotography and had a budget to fill any gaps in their existing photography kit. Claude's conclusion was to get a $20 intervalometer and a battery adapter that runs off the wall: the lenses and tripod they already had were fine. It also pointed out that Jupiter and Venus were near conjunction, so a dark spot facing west would give a good timelapse that weekend, and later gave rough guidelines for a partial lunar eclipse that produced some amazing photos. tonyarkles now plans to spend the budget on a proper mount, but only after confirming they enjoy the hobby.

    Claude · Shopping · Source date:

  • Buy a child's back-to-school shoes in the right size and a school-approved microphone with Grok BotRecreated promptEvidence: Described by poster

    Asked to buy back-to-school shoes for their kid and a microphone for school, Vekay handed both to Grok Bot. It found a previous size 6 Hoka purchase in their email, opened shoes on the Hoka site and added the chosen pair to the cart. For the microphone (the post later calls it headphones) it checked the school website for requirements and added a couple of options to the Amazon cart; Vekay removed one and checked out. Vekay says what usually takes 30 minutes took 5, while watching TV.

    Grok Bot · Shopping · Source date:

  • Watch two new phones for a price drop during the price-match window with a daily Claude Cowork check, and claim $40 backRecreated promptEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly

    George Liu bought two Samsung phones from Best Buy, one for themselves and one for their father, and noticed a 30-day price match policy covering drops at Best Buy or major competitors. They spent 15 minutes building a Claude Cowork skill, gave it the model number and told it to check Best Buy, Amazon, Costco and a few other retailers every morning at 7 AM. One morning it found a quiet $20 drop on Best Buy's own product page: not a coupon or a sale, just a lower price. They opened Best Buy's chat, its AI walked them through the price match and a human agent approved a refund of $40 plus tax for the two phones.

    Claude Cowork · Shopping · Source date:

  • Find this week's drugstore deals and coupons to stack with Gemini Spark, though one promo code didn't work (partial)Recreated promptEvidence: Article or interviewPartialBeginner-friendly

    TechCrunch's Sarah Perez asked Gemini Spark for product suggestions for an everyday drugstore trip for household items, based on weekly deals and coupons they could clip. Spark told them which products matching their needs were on sale, suggested coupons to clip in the Walgreens app, and explained how to stack coupons on one item with online promo codes for a pickup order. One of the promo codes was invalid when they tried it, even though they met the requirements Spark had described, but buy-one-get-one-free and rewards deals Spark pointed out made up for it.

    Gemini Spark · Shopping · Source date:

  • Work out why new running shoes felt wrong and find the old model second-hand with GeminiEvidence: Described by posterBeginner-friendly

    Kevin R. Kosar replaced a favourite pair of New Balance 880v11 running shoes with a similar-looking $100 Fresh Foam X 860v14, and two test runs left their lower back slightly sore. Kosar asked Gemini to compare the two. It explained that the new shoe is a little heavier and built for overpronators, while the 880v11 is a neutral shoe. Gemini then pointed to second-hand retailers, where Kosar bought two pairs of slightly used 880v11s; the new pair became around-the-house shoes.

    Gemini · Shopping · Source date:

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