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Finding the right gift for friends and family is difficult, especially if you’re not familiar with what exactly makes a stand mixer or an indoor herb gardening kit the best of its kind. That’s where using Microsoft Copilot as a personal shopper becomes useful. Here’s how you can use this AI tool for shopping.
What Is Microsoft Copilot Personal Shopper?
Microsoft Copilot personal shopper isn’t an individual app; rather, it’s a way of using specific prompts to have Copilot help you find the perfect thing to buy. The premise might seem limited—it’s easy to wonder if an AI can really tell if a chair is chartreuse green—but Microsoft Copilot is surprisingly adept at finding a product to meet any criteria.
Any well-written AI promptworks for turning Microsoft Copilot into a personal shopper, but one good recipe for success is providing Copilot with information about the person you’re shopping for (in particular, their hobbies and interests). Once Copilot generates a good idea, you can have it compare products and rule out any features you don’t like until you find the perfect fit.
You can use ChatGPT and other AI tools as a personal shopper too, butMicrosoft Copilot is the best for most usersbecause you can use GPT-4 for free.
How to Prompt Copilot to Find Potential Gifts
To use Microsoft Copilotas a personal shopper, it helps to ask the tool what kind of information it might need about the person you’re shopping for. When you prompt it to list what kind of information would be useful, you can rack your brain using its suggestions and provide Copilot with a much more comprehensive set of information. Without enough information, Copilot might not give helpful product suggestions.
After you’ve provided a profile of a person, MIcrosoft Copilot will usually hone in on specific traits and provide a few ideas—but if you aren’t happy with the suggestions, you’re able to always redirect Copilot with another prompt. It’s not uncommon for several prompts to be necessary before Copilot gets on the right track, so don’t be alarmed if you don’t love its first ideas.
As shown in the above example, Copilot was able to provide helpful suggestions after a bit of redirection, though it does take human insight to pick the best results since suggestions like a bearded dragon terrarium aren’t actually helpful for most dorm rooms. Once Copilot provides an idea you’re happy with, you’re ready to begin the process of product selection.
Comparing Products with Copilot
After Copilot has given you a good idea (or a few), you may get better suggestions by asking Copilot to describe or compare products. You don’t have to stick to one product, either, as you can also ask Microsoft Copilot for pros and cons if you’re still deciding between a few different ideas. If you’re certain of what you want, asking for product suggestions is the way to go.
While the details Copilot provides about each product are useful, they aren’t in-depth enough to really compare products. That’s where product comparisons become useful. By asking Copilot which product is best for small spaces, offers the best bang for your buck, or has the best warranty, you can identify which product is the best to buy.
You don’t have to ask about just one feature of its suggested products, either. If you’re considering a complex product, like GPUs, you can ask Copilot to provide product specifications in a table. This is useful if you would rather holistically weigh out the attributes of a product yourself, rather than trusting Copilot to make the final pick.
Ultimately, the product comparisons you’ll receive will only be as good as your prompts. It’s best to be specific when asking Copilot to compare products. You should tell Copilot to weigh the products on specific qualities, like their warranty policy or price. If the selection turns out unideal, you can also ask Copilot to look for more products that have the qualities you want.
Refining Feedback and Finding the Perfect Gift
Copilot won’t always get it right on the first try, but as you continue to provide feedback, you’ll get closer to finding the perfect gift. When you’re providing feedback to Copilot, there are a few standard prompts you can use to whittle down its suggestions:
You may need to prompt Copilot multiple times before it can provide the best suggestions. Once you’ve found a good product with Copilot, it’s important that you verify the information you were given about the product independently. Microsoft Copilot is generally reliable, butaccuracy is the biggest weakness of AI tools, so it doesn’t hurt to verify.
Is Microsoft Copilot’s Personal Shopper Good?
Microsoft Copilot is an incredible personal shopper. It’s difficult enough to shop for products you’re familiar with when many product descriptions are almost novel-length, and it can become near-impossible when you’re shopping for gifts that you just aren’t familiar with.
One of Copilot’s greatest strengths is its ability to provide vast knowledge and insight into anything from saddles to math textbooks. It’s also incredibly efficient at doing so, and within minutes, it can provide a list of products that approximate what you want.
It isn’t an end-all solution for gift shopping, but Copilot is a tool that’s perfect for making the research you put into gifts more efficient. During the holidays, it could even be a major time-saver — so before you shoot down the idea of using an AI personal shopper, it’s worth finding out just how much Copilot can help you.
