A Tom's Guide writer uploaded a photo of a plate she'd bought from Urban Outfitters almost 20 years ago, assuming it was long discontinued. Gemini identified the pattern and traced the original line, and she now follows the maker on Instagram.
Here's a photo of a [PLATE, MUG OR BOWL], including the back with any marks. I bought it around [YEAR] from [SHOP IF KNOWN]. Identify the pattern, maker and range if you can, tell me whether it's still made, and suggest where I could find matching pieces, new or second-hand, plus the search terms to use.
Replace the [PLACEHOLDERS] with your own details before you send it.
How to try it
- Photograph the front and the maker’s mark on the back in good light.
- Upload both to Gemini with what you remember about where it came from.
- Search the names it gives on the maker’s site and second-hand marketplaces.
More shopping use cases
Find an item in stock at your local shop with a Grok agent
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.
Choose a second-hand laptop and negotiate with the seller using ChatGPT
Needing to replace an old ThinkPad T480, a Hacker News user asked ChatGPT to narrow down which model suited their needs, then used it to find a listing and negotiate with the seller. They ended up with a newer ThinkPad T14 Gen 4 and were very happy with it.
I want to buy a second-hand laptop to replace my [CURRENT LAPTOP]. I mainly use it for [USES], my budget is [BUDGET] and I care most about [BATTERY / WEIGHT / KEYBOARD / REPAIRABILITY]. Suggest 3 models and years worth looking for, what spec to aim for and what to check before buying used. Then here's a listing I'm considering: [PASTE AD]. Is the price fair, and can you draft a polite, realistic offer message to the seller?
Find savings in a year of grocery receipts with ChatGPT
One shopper had ChatGPT analyse a year of online grocery orders. It worked out the household could save hundreds a year by switching to equivalent own-brand products and buying specific items from specific shops.
Here is my online grocery order history for the last [PERIOD]: [PASTE OR UPLOAD]. Analyse it and tell me: 1) my top 20 items by total spend, 2) where a cheaper own-brand equivalent exists, 3) which items are cheaper at [OTHER SHOPS], and 4) a realistic estimate of yearly savings. Present it as a short table.
Reference: Tom's Guide