In October 2026 we asked Grok Bot, a desktop AI agent with its own browser, to find a 10 m Cat6 network cable at Anhoch, an electronics shop in Skopje. It searched the shop's website, found an SBOX Cat6 UTP 10 m patch cable for 250 MKD, compared two Lanberg options at 290 and 450 MKD (both warehouse-only) and used the per-branch stock list to find the mall branch that had it. We popped in and bought it in one trip; the agent didn't buy anything itself.
Find a [ITEM AND SPEC, E.G. 10 M CAT6 NETWORK CABLE] at [SHOP NAME OR WEBSITE] in [TOWN OR CITY]. Search the shop's own website and compare 2-3 suitable options in a short table with the product name, key specs and current price. Use the shop's branch or stock information to tell me which branch has each one in stock right now, and flag anything that's warehouse-only or online-only. Give me a direct link to each product page. Don't buy or reserve anything; I'll go in and buy it myself.
Replace the [PLACEHOLDERS] with your own details before you send it.
How to try it
- Use an AI assistant that can browse the web, such as ChatGPT agent, Grok or Perplexity, and give it the exact item, the spec you need and the shop you’d like to use.
- Ask it to check the shop’s per-branch stock list rather than just the product page, and to name the branch that actually has it on the shelf.
- Open the product links yourself to confirm the price and stock (they can change during the day), then make one trip to that branch and buy it in person.
A first-hand example from the AI How To team, October 2026. Prices and stock were correct when we checked and may have changed since.
More shopping use cases
Sanity-check Black Friday deals with Perplexity
Which? asked ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for the best Black Friday air fryer deals. Only Perplexity found the experts' top pick and a working discount code, but it misquoted the deal price, so Which? suggests AI as a starting point, not the final word.
I'm thinking of buying [PRODUCT AND MODEL] for [PRICE] at [RETAILER]. Using current sources, tell me: the typical price over the last six months, the lowest recent price, other UK retailers selling it now and their prices, and any valid discount codes. Link every price to its source so I can check it.
Make sense of a pile of gifted skincare products with ChatGPT
After his wife received several serums and creams for Christmas, a Hacker News user and his wife didn't know when to apply them or which shouldn't be combined. A 15-minute ChatGPT session gave her a weekly routine with its reasoning, and as someone who already knew a lot about skincare she could spot any wrong suggestion.
I've got these skincare products: [LIST PRODUCT NAMES AND KEY INGREDIENTS FROM THE LABELS]. My skin is [TYPE] and I'd like [GOAL]. Suggest a simple morning and evening routine for the week, explain the order to apply things in, and point out any products that are usually best not used at the same time. Tell me which bits I should check on the packaging or with a pharmacist.
Get a second opinion on glasses frames from Gemini
One user asked Gemini for its opinion while trying on glasses frames, and it helped them pick a pair. Three colleagues complimented the new frames.
I'm choosing new glasses frames. My face shape is [IF YOU KNOW IT], my style is [E.G. SMART, PLAYFUL, MINIMAL] and I'll wear them mostly for [WORK / EVERYDAY]. I'll show you each pair on camera or in photos: tell me honestly which suit me best and why, and which to avoid.
Reference: AI How To team, first-hand (Oct 2026)