How to Use ChatGPT or Gemini to Find Black Friday Deals (and Catch the Wrong Prices)
It found the discount. It also found a watch $115 dearer than the maker sells it for.
At a glance
First step Give it exact models. A named model with its size or color gets better answers than 'a smartwatch'. Add your budget and where you'd be happy to buy.
Saves: Money on gifts, and hours of tab-hopping · Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Perplexity
Example result A useful answer lists each item with a price, the store, a direct link and whether the 'was' price looks inflated, and says plainly when it isn't sure.
Only have five minutes? Ask a chatbot whether one item's 'sale' price is really a deal compared with its usual price, then check the answer on the maker's own site.
What to do
- Give it exact models. A named model with its size or color gets better answers than 'a smartwatch'. Add your budget and where you'd be happy to buy.
- Ask for links and doubts. Ask for a direct link for every price and for it to say when a price is a guess. Use the prompt below.
- Open every link yourself. Check the price, the exact model and the seller on the page. Marketplace listings from third-party sellers can cost more than they first appear.
- Compare with the maker and one big store. Check the same item on the brand's own site and one retailer you trust. If the 'deal' beats both by a mile, be suspicious.
- Buy from stores you found yourself. Type the store's address or use its app. If the chatbot sent you to a store you've never heard of, check it before you pay.
The prompt
A prompt is the instructions you give the AI. Anything in [square brackets] is a blank for you to fill in. First time? Start here
I'm shopping for these gifts: [exact item and model, one per line]. My total budget is [amount]. I'm happy to buy from [stores you trust]. For each item, find the best current price from a well-known retailer, give me a direct link, and tell me the item's usual price so I can tell whether the 'sale' is real. Flag any 'was' price that looks inflated. If you're not sure of a price or it's from a third-party seller, say so. Don't guess.
- Press Copy prompt.
- Open ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
- Paste it into the message box and fill in the [blanks].
Keep it private. Before you paste: leave out passwords, codes, and account, card, ID and policy numbers. Swap real names for "my mother" or "the company."
No need to share your address, card or account details. Just the list.
What to check yourself
- Chatbots get prices, models and stock wrong. The price on the store's page at checkout is the only one that counts.
- A chatbot's link can lead to a fake or look-alike store. Check any shop you don't know before you pay, and pay by credit card.
- Prices change daily in the holiday sales. A great price from yesterday may be gone.
What happenedThe story behind it
In October, 6abc Philadelphia reported on a study by a company called Product AI, which put 220 shopping questions across nine product categories to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity. The errors were the kind that cost you: a laptop price off by $300 in some answers, a sunscreen's SPF off by 10, earbud battery life off by six hours. Perplexity ranked first, then ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Google said the study tested developer software rather than its consumer Gemini app. The station's advice: double-check prices and product details.
On November 8, an Android Police writer gave the free versions of ChatGPT and Gemini the same four-gadget list. ChatGPT's basket saved him $322 against full price, Gemini's $156. Both stumbled: Gemini pointed him to a smartwatch $115 above the maker's price, and ChatGPT mixed up two phone models. ChatGPT did usefully flag a 'was' price that had been inflated. His verdict was to treat chatbot results as a starting point, open every link and check every seller.
Separately, a NordVPN investigation reported this month that some AI assistants had recommended fake look-alike stores when asked where to shop. A chatbot's link is not a recommendation you can trust on its own.
The verdict
A tireless bargain hunter with a loose grip on what things actually cost.
Sources
How sure we are: Based on published reports and official advice. We haven't tested this one ourselves. What this means