7 ways to use ChatGPT to shop smarter — and the prompts to help you save

2026 has felt like it's been in fast-forward mode all year long. With the holiday season just around the corner, people will soon be shopping for presents and making smart purchasing decisions. ChatGPT, a popular AI chatbot, has become a go-to tool for many individuals seeking to make informed shopping choices. Here are seven ways to use ChatGPT for smarter shopping and the corresponding prompts to help you save:

1. Find the best product within your budget: If you're a gaming enthusiast looking for headsets, arcade sticks, or controllers, ChatGPT can help you find the best options within your budget. Simply provide the product type, intended use, and your maximum budget, along with your top priorities. ChatGPT will generate a list of five options, highlighting their pros and cons, the best value for money, and which features aren't worth paying extra for.

2. Compare two or more products: Before making a purchase, it's common to weigh your options. ChatGPT can assist you in comparing two or more products to determine which one is worth buying. Provide the product names and your intended usage, and ChatGPT will create a side-by-side comparison of performance, durability, ease of use, warranty, running costs, and price. It will also highlight meaningful differences, flag trade-offs, and recommend a product based on your priorities.

3. Check if a deal is worth the money: Before clicking the "Buy" button, it's essential to verify if a deal is genuinely a good one. ChatGPT can help you determine this by checking customer reviews for red and green flags. Instead of relying solely on star ratings, you can ask ChatGPT to dig deeper into customer feedback, focusing on recurring complaints, failure points, misleading product descriptions, customer service, and issues that emerge over time.

4. Look up customer reviews for red and green flags: Customer reviews can provide valuable insights into a product's quality and reliability. ChatGPT can help you sift through customer reviews to identify common issues and concerns. By analyzing reviews with a focus on durability, reliability, misleading product descriptions, customer service, and problems that arise over time, you can make a more informed decision before making a purchase.

5. Find cheaper alternatives that are just as good: In the quest for the perfect product, it's not uncommon to discover cheaper alternatives that offer similar features. ChatGPT can assist you in finding these alternatives by providing a list of five cheaper options that offer the most important features you need. It will explain the benefits and drawbacks of each option, flag any compromises in quality or reliability, and recommend the least expensive option you can confidently choose.

6. Calculate the true cost of ownership over time: Expensive tech often comes with additional expenses such as accessories, replacement parts, subscriptions, consumables, and repairs. To get a comprehensive understanding of the long-term costs associated with a product, you can ask ChatGPT to calculate the estimated total cost of ownership over a specified period.

Provide the product details and the desired time frame, and ChatGPT will include all relevant costs in its calculation, allowing you to make a more informed decision.