In partnership with
Hey, it’s Jeffrey, back again!
Big purchases are tricky. Even if you do a bit of research, you still might wonder:
Is this really the best product for me?
Are there better options I’m missing?
Is this actually a good deal?
We’ve all fallen into the trap of rushing a purchase or spending way too long comparing reviews. That’s where AI tools like ChatGPT can help.
This week, I tested out ways to use AI to:
Decide if a product is worth buying
Find better alternatives
Learn from real customer reviews
Find the best price available
Amazon Prime Day is coming up, but I’m always a bit skeptical of how good the deals really are. More on that below.
📬 In this email:
In today’s Money Meets AI edition, we look at:
🧠 Step 1: Ask "Should I buy this?"
🔍 Step 2: Compare Alternatives
💾 Step 3: Track Price History Before You Buy
🛠️ Other Tools to Check Out
🔁 What to Do Now
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:
The easiest way to stay business-savvy.
There’s a reason over 4 million professionals start their day with Morning Brew. It’s business news made simple—fast, engaging, and actually enjoyable to read.
From business and tech to finance and global affairs, Morning Brew covers the headlines shaping your work and your world. No jargon. No fluff. Just the need-to-know information, delivered with personality.
It takes less than 5 minutes to read, it’s completely free, and it might just become your favorite part of the morning. Sign up now and see why millions of professionals are hooked.
THIS WEEK’S TESTED TOOLS
🧠 Step 1: Ask "Should I buy this?"
Best for: Getting a quick, no-pressure second opinion
Before clicking “Buy,” I asked ChatGPT:
I’m thinking about buying the Ninja Crispi. It costs $159.99, and I’ll use it for air frying meals, which I do 4 or 5 times a week. Is this a good product, and are there better alternatives I should consider?
ChatGPT gave me:
A rundown of what the product is good for
Warnings or drawbacks mentioned in reviews
Other similar products to check out
To see what would happen, I tested this on a product with bad reviews. I wanted to find something terrible, so I chose the Blue Wave Premier Family Inflatable Pool with a 3.5-star rating on Amazon.
Overall, ChatGPT still tried to give me a balanced review with pros and cons, yet mostly recommended against it.
I followed up with a more direct question: “Would you recommend this pool? Or should I avoid it?” It responded with, “I’d advise caution.”
So, if you rely on ChatGPT for this, I’d recommend asking follow-up questions about your concerns.
At least with this prompt, it’s more likely to weigh pros and cons than steer you towards or away from a specific product.
🔍 Step 2: Compare Alternatives
Best for: Exploring your options
Next, I asked:
What are 3 similar products to Ninja Crispi that are well-rated, budget-friendly, or better value?
ChatGPT listed:
Cheaper options with similar features
Premium versions with better durability
Lesser-known picks that still get great reviews
This easily saved me 10–20 minutes of research.
However, one thing to note is that the prices weren’t always very accurate, so be careful using ChatGPT to compare. For example, I found the Ninja Air Fryer Pro available for $79 at Walmart and $89.99 at several other stores, including Amazon.
💾 Step 3: Track Price History Before You Buy
Best for: Making smarter purchases and avoiding false “discounts”
AI tools can check a product’s price history to know whether a sale is a good deal or just marketing hype.
Amazon’s Rufus AI assistant now answers direct “price history” questions within their app, helping you check past price ranges before buying.
🧠 How to use it:
Go to a product page on Amazon (website or app)
Look for “Ask Rufus.”
Ask something like “What's the price history of this item?”
You’ll see results like this.
shared.image.missing_image
You can also set up price alerts with Rufus from the mobile app:
What Didn’t Work So Well
While I liked the price comparison in ChatGPT, I didn’t love that it listed unfamiliar stores. Many of them didn’t offer the lowest prices.
As mentioned above, ChatGPT also gives more nuanced recommendations, at least at first, using my prompt. So, I’d recommend digging in with follow-up questions to get the most out of product reviews from ChatGPT.
🛠️ Other Tools to Check Out
Other tools I came across but didn’t do a deep dive into for this newsletter:
Fakespot analyzes Amazon reviews for authenticity
Keepa and Camelcamelcamel show Amazon price history directly within product listings. Their charts make it easy to spot real drops, with no surprises later.
🎯What to Do Now
🙌 Ask ChatGPT to assess pros/cons and suggest alternatives
🤑 Use ChatGPT to compare prices
📉 Use Amazon Rufus for pricing history and alerts
PS—I’d love to hear your other feedback or suggestions. Just hit reply — I read every email!
PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR:
How did you like today's newsletter?
One quick note: This newsletter is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. I’m not a financial advisor — just someone sharing ideas and tools I’ve found useful. Use what works for you, skip what doesn’t, and always do your own research before making financial decisions and using the tools shared in this newsletter.