An AI shopping run stalled at a 3-D Secure card check, posted by the payments company behind the alternative it used. Paying instead from a pre funded balance, the run finished on its own: a $17.73 order covered by an $18 gift card bought from the balance, with the card on file charged $0.00.
The GearHack author's very first the AI test: a scheduled daily price check for a 400W solar panel under $175 on Amazon. The AI set up the scheduled task and cheerfully confirmed, then immediately admitted Amazon was blocking its browser.
$175at stake
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WSJ columnist Nicole Nguyen asked Dots to cancel a handful of subscriptions but specified that she wanted to press the unsubscribe button herself. Dots loaded the correct account pages, pinged her when each was ready, and finished the job after her click.
OpenAI's launch post reports that an early tester's Dot noticed he had forgotten to invoice a publication, prepared the invoice itself, and sent it after his approval. No amount or publication is named.
The Product Channel had the AI track a $744 ResMed AirSense 11 purchase three times daily through its 30-day price-guarantee window. It found a $634 price and — after approval of the drafted claim — secured a $121 refund; a second $81.40 claim remains under review.
Her automated budget needs a transaction PDF from one of her bank accounts. Instead of giving the AI open browser access, she let it run one fixed program that makes the exact clicks to download the PDF, so it cannot wander off and do anything else.
Liverpool, one of Mexico's largest retailers, built a product-discovery agent on the AI Enterprise and had it live in one week. Google says it is forecast to return ten times what it cost.
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Dan Zhao posted a dark-mode screenshot recommending the AI for auto-insurance shopping, claiming over $1,000/year in savings. The comparison shows six-month premiums: Progressive $1,556 as the new leader vs Costco Connect $2,142.75 and current GEICO $2,324.63.
'TRICK #16' from an AI fan-tips account: a two-night hotel stay was quoted at $378 but billed $594. Breaking down 'THE FOLIO' revealed $90x2 resort fees (never used, undisclosed at booking), $76x2 parking (never used), and $100x2 minibar (never used).
Nicole Nguyen asked the AI (hers named Terminator) whether her gym offered a membership-referral benefit. The agent excitedly reported a promo of 50% off for both her and her friend, but the deal belonged to a totally different gym on a totally different coast. Her caption for the episode: even cuddly AIs can make mistakes.
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U/Sleds88 (Reddit) had a Verizon gift card and didn't know it could be applied to a phone bill. They asked the AI what the gift card could be used for; the AI confirmed it could pay the account balance, then opened Verizon.com and processed the payment autonomously.
He asked the AI for ways to make free money, and it searched his name in his state's unclaimed property database. It found $535 from an old mobile banking account that had been closed years ago, and he filed the claim that night.
A bearded creator (Medo, 6.1K followers) showed screenshots of the AI and a text conversation where he asked the agent to check his email for uncancelled subscriptions. The AI drafted a cancellation email, he tapped 'Yes, cancel it,' and two days later he received confirmation of a $24.99 refund.
DaVe McComb's screenshot shows his AI 'Archer' reporting a loyalty-chat win: Verizon offered 25% off plan charges — about $33.75/month for 12 months, no plan change or contract — which, with a hotspot already cut, drops his bill from $194.74 to about $161/month, roughly $405 a year. Archer asked whether to accept; he replied 'Yes, take the discount', and Archer confirmed it had told Verizon to apply it and would verify.
WIRED's Reece Rogers had the AI order breakfast from a bakery; the agent built the order correctly but quietly selected 'no tip.' Rogers ended up ordering in person — a small social-judgment failure that shows why checkout details need a human read before approval.
This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
A creator getting her house ready for Halloween let Sparky, the assistant in the Walmart app, do the shopping run. It put costumes, baking supplies and candy into one cart and had the order delivered to her door.