MW Amazon's Prime Day sale ends today. How to use AI to get the best deals before time runs out.

By Genna Contino

'The era of scrolling through endless deals is over. The smartest shoppers will let AI do the work,' one expert says.

Before Justin Goldsberry clicks the "place your order" button on his Amazon cart this Prime Day, there's a crucial step he plans on taking: consulting ChatGPT.

The New York City-based marketing strategist is planning to seek out deals on tech, books and vinyl records during the Prime Day event - which runs July 8-11 this year and also offers early deals in the days leading up to it.

But Goldsberry wants to make sure he's getting the best bargain. During previous sale events, he's pasted product links into the generative-AI model and asked, "When is the best time to buy [enter item] during Prime Day?" or, "Is a competitor offering a better deal on this item right now?"

During past Prime Days, Goldsberry used AI to find the lowest prices available for a camera, a JBL speaker and an EarthPak waterproof travel bag. His tactic paid off, and he plans to do the same this year.

"Over time, it's helped me shop smarter and get better deals and more value out of everyday purchases," he said.

Goldsberry is one of a growing number of consumers using AI assistants to score deals when shopping online. Adobe Analytics $(ADBE)$ data from March shows that 39% of U.S. consumers have used generative AI for online shopping, and 53% plan to use it this year. AI and e-commerce experts say the technology can help consumers save time and find better deals that might not be advertised among the promoted Prime Day discounts.

See more: Amazon's Prime Day sale is longer than ever - and even more important than usual for the company. Here's why.

"This Prime Day, expect millions to prompt their AI agents with requests like, 'Find me the best noise-canceling headphones under $200,' or 'Alert me when the lowest price on this laptop hits,"' said AI and consumer-trend expert Matt Britton. "The AI will scan not just Amazon $(AMZN.UK)$, but the entire web - Walmart $(WMT)$, Target (TGT), Best Buy $(BBY.UK)$ and beyond - to surface the best deals, regardless of platform."

Other major retailers are running rival sales events to compete with Amazon. Target Circle Week and the Walmart Deals event fall during the same week as Prime Day this year.

Amazon rolls out new AI features for Prime Day

Among people surveyed by Adobe Analytics who say they have used generative AI for online shopping, 55% say they're using it to do research. Others say they're receiving product recommendations (47%), seeking deals (43%), generating gift ideas (35%), finding unique products (35%) or creating shopping lists (33%).

"We're moving from search to agents. Instead of manually hunting for deals, consumers are now using generative-AI-powered shopping assistants - think Perplexity, ChatGPT or specialized browser extensions - to do the heavy lifting," Britton said. "These agents compare prices, vet reviews and even predict when prices will drop, all in real time."

Amazon has introduced its own new internal AI features this year that can assist shoppers on Prime Day. The "Interests" feature on the Amazon shopping app lets users type in conversational prompts for whatever product they're looking for, and the AI-powered feature will continuously scan Amazon and notify shoppers about relevant products, restocks and deals based on that prompt.

The new "Shopping Guides" feature uses AI to create a list of relevant products with educational content and insights from customers. Shoppers can also "Hear the Highlights" with a new generative-AI feature that reads synthesized product summaries and reviews for different products.

In a poll of MarketWatch readers on X, about 20% said they have used or plan to use Amazon's internal AI tools or ChatGPT to find Prime Day deals. Among Instagram users, 23% said the same.

What to ask your AI shopping assistant

When MarketWatch pasted a link to a Prime Day deal for 35% off a Ring doorbell into Gemini, Google's $(GOOGL)$ generative-AI tool, on Monday, along with Goldsberry's questions about better deals and the best time to buy, the bot responded with the prices listed on Best Buy and on Ring's official website, both full price at $229.99. In other words, Gemini concluded the sale on Amazon was the best available price.

In response to the question on timing, the AI model said it's OK to buy now from Amazon at the discounted price of $149.99, because it matches the lowest historical price for the product. However, it noted that there could be variations on prices for bundles from Ring throughout Prime Day and that there could be "lightning deals," which are time-sensitive and can sell out quickly.

"In summary: If you're ready to buy, the current Amazon early Prime Day deal for the Ring Battery Doorbell Pro at $149.99 is an excellent opportunity, matching its lowest historical price," Gemini said.

Google did not immediately respond to a MarketWatch request for comment. OpenAI declined to comment.

It can pay to not be too picky when using AI as a shopping assistant, said Joe Hudicka, a supply-chain expert and the author of "The AI Ecosystems Revolution."

"The AI is only as good as the parameters you give it. If you filter too strictly, you might miss out on deals that could have surprised you," Hudicka said. "But that's the tradeoff for a curated experience. You're choosing quality over quantity."

AI models can also provide misleading or false information, known as "hallucinations," so shoppers should double-check on the retailer's site that the price the model provides is accurate. It's also important to not input personal details such as bank-account information, credit-card numbers, Social Security numbers or passwords into large language models.

Beware of price anchoring and other tips

For consumers who want to do everything they can to ensure they're getting the best deal, AI experts recommend using sites like camelcamelcamel.com or keepa.com, both of which track Amazon prices and can alert shoppers to significant price changes, similar to how Google Flights works.

See more: I asked AI, Google Flights and a travel agent to find me the cheapest flight. Here's who won.

Using price-tracking sites or personally tracking prices over time can help keep shoppers from falling victim to price anchoring, which is when a vendor displays a higher "regular price" or "list price" to make the sale price look like a better deal, according to Shopify( SHOP). Some shoppers said they saw this happening during last year's Prime Day. Amazon said it investigated the claims and did not find evidence that customers were being misled.

While generative-AI models can't directly pull prices from these price-tracking sites because it lacks access to their application programming interfaces, experts recommend cross-referencing the deals that AI chatbots produce with tracking sites to spot price anchoring.

"I think there is a greater sophistication in the market to know that great 'deals' on Prime Day or on Black Friday might not be such great savings," said Michael Goldberg, a professor at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. "AI gives us the data to better understand price history really easily."

Generative AI can also be leveraged to analyze product reviews for authenticity by flagging fake or suspicious reviews. Consumers can specify in prompts that they want AI models to factor in shipping times, return policies, warranty coverage, bundle deals or hidden coupons to ensure they're getting the best value.

"The era of scrolling through endless deals is over. The smartest shoppers will let AI do the work," Britton said. "The question for brands and retailers: Are you ready for a world where the path to purchase is controlled by algorithms, not ads?"

If you're just starting out on your money or career journey and have questions about how to navigate your finances, we want to hear from you. Write to Dollar Signs, MarketWatch's new advice column, at dollarsigns@marketwatch.com.

See also: I'm saving 100% on Amazon Prime Day - and you can too

-Genna Contino

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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July 11, 2025 11:10 ET (15:10 GMT)

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