Written October 2026. Menus move, so if a button isn't exactly where I say it is, look nearby.
Everyone has a list of stuff they want but won't pay full price for, like a stroller, a new vacuum or the shoes that have been in your cart since July.
Checking 6 stores for the same item every few days is a chore, so hand it to Claude. You give it your list and the price you'd pay, and it checks every morning and tells you when something gets there.
You set it up once on a laptop and it takes about 10 minutes.
Before you start
- You need a paid Claude plan to schedule it. That means Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise, although on the free plan you can still paste the prompt in and run it by hand whenever you want.
- Web search has to be on. That's how Claude checks the stores, so if it tells you it can't look things up, turn web search on in your settings.
The prompt
Fill in your wishlist and your price for each item, and leave the rest as is.
Copy and fill in
You're my personal shopper. Check today's price for each item on my wishlist at Amazon, Target, Walmart, Best Buy, Costco, and the brand's own site.
My wishlist:
- [Brand, item, model number, size, color] - my price: $[X]
- [Brand, item, model number, size, color] - my price: $[X]
Rules:
- Match the exact product. Same model, size, and color. New only, not used or refurbished, unless I say so.
- Count shipping and any coupon shown on the page.
- If a store doesn't have the exact item, skip that store. Don't swap in something close.
What to send me:
- If an item is at or below my price: the item, the store, the price, how far under my price it is, and the direct link.
- If nothing hit my price: one line that says "No drops today," then the lowest price you found for each item.
Do not buy anything or add anything to a cart.Write a list it can't get wrong
The prompt is only as good as your list, because if you type "stroller" you'll get 400 strollers back. Give it the brand, the model, the size and the color. And if there's a model number on the product page, paste that in too, because it does more than any other line in the prompt.
Too vague:
- Running shoes - my price: $80
Clear:
- Nike Pegasus 41, women's size 8, black/white - my price: $95Pick a price you'd pay today. If you set it too low it never hits, and a month later you've forgotten the task is even running. Start a little under what it sells for now (you can change it any time).
Run it by hand once
Before you schedule anything, paste the prompt into a regular chat and run it while you watch.
Then click every link it gives you and make sure it's the right item in the right size and color, and that the price matches what Claude said. If it grabbed the wrong version, add that detail to your list and run it again. I promise you only have to do this once.
Put it on a schedule
The exact path:
- Go to claude.ai on a laptop.
- Click Scheduled in the left sidebar.
- Click New task, then Set up manually.
- Fill in Name ("Price watch" works).
- Paste your filled-in prompt into Instructions.
- Set Frequency to Daily and pick a time. I'd do early morning so it's ready when you're up.
- Set Permissions to Automatically approve.
- Click Save.
Why Automatically approve. On Manually approve, Claude stops and waits for you to OK each step, and at 7:00 AM no one's there to click, so the task just stops. Automatically approve lets it run and only pauses if something looks unsafe. I don't use Skip all approvals and I wouldn't tell you to.
The task runs on Claude's end, so your laptop can be closed and it still runs on time.
Where to find the results
Click Scheduled, then click your task, and History lists every run. Open today's and you'll see either a drop with a link or "No drops today."
When something drops, click the link and check the price on the store's page before you buy. Then take that item off your list in Instructions so it stops checking.
Going on a trip? Flip the Active toggle off and flip it back on when you want it again.
What it can't do
It can't buy anything. It can't log in to your store accounts, and the prompt also tells it not to touch a cart. It finds the price and hands you the link, and you do the buying.
It can't see prices behind a login. Member-only prices and app coupons are hidden from it, so sometimes you'll actually get a better price than the one it found.
Prices change fast. A price it read at 7:00 AM can be gone by lunch, which is why you always click through and check before you buy.
Every run starts fresh. It doesn't remember what the price was yesterday, so your price is the only number it checks against, so make it a good one.
When it doesn't work
It keeps finding the wrong version. Your list isn't specific enough, so add the model number, the size and the color.
It never finds a drop. Your price is too low, so look at the lowest prices it reports for a week, then move your number closer to those.
The task ran and there's nothing in it. Permissions is set to Manually approve, so it stopped and waited for you. Switch it to Automatically approve and it'll run on its own.
The link shows a different price. The price changed after Claude checked, or the deal needs a login it can't see. The price on the store's page is the real one.
It says it can't check prices. That means web search is off, so turn it on in your settings and run it again.
Ideas to try
- Your holiday list. It's October, so add every gift now and let it watch through Black Friday.
- Baby gear. Strollers and car seats go on sale a lot, and when they don't, they're expensive.
- Home upgrades. The mattress you've been putting off for a year.
- Whatever you keep leaving in your cart. If you've looked at it 5 times, put it on the list.
The fastest path to a win
1. Copy the prompt and fill in 3 items with the model, size, and color.
2. Run it by hand once and click every link.
3. Make it a scheduled task and set it to Daily and Automatically approve.
4. Check History when you have a minute and buy when it drops.
If you only do one thing: put the model number in, because that's the difference between the right stroller and 400 wrong ones.