Can artificial intelligence help you save money at the grocery store? Let’s find out.
One expert says ChatGPT can help you save, but urge consumers to keep balanced expectations on just how immediate and large an impact artificial intelligence can make during your next trip to the store.
Andrew Lo, professor of finance and director of the Laboratory for Financial Engineering at MIT, believes ChatGPT can be a valuable tool for learning how to save money and manage monthly expenses — though it’s important to take precautions.
“It can tell you, given the kind of things you’re looking to purchase, where the various deals might be,” Lo explained.
ChatGPTips, in collaboration with ChatGPTricks, developed a prompt formula to help users lower their grocery bills by asking the AI tool for the most effective and convenient ways to save.
Lo recommends treating these suggestions as a starting point before diving in and doing additional research before making any decisions.
“Once you get the feedback, you have to make sure that what you’re getting is legit, versus what they call hallucinations that large language models are likely to do on occasion.”
Here are some ways to use AI to save money on groceries, according to ChatGPTips:
1- “Receipt Analyzer”
Prompt: Here’s my receipt. Show me what I’m wasting money on and exactly what to buy instead for half the cost.
2- “Store Strategy Optimizer”
Prompt: I shop at (stores). Teach me their pricing patterns, sales cycles, and which items to never buy at each one.
3- “Meal Plan Maximizer”
Prompt: Create 21 different meals using only these 15 ingredients: (list). Each meal must taste completely different.
4: “Coupon Stack Master”
Prompt: I’m buying (items) at (store). Find every possible discount stack, including apps, cashback and timing tricks.
5: “Bulk Buying Calculator”
Prompt: Which items should be bought in bulk vs. fresh? Calculate exact savings, including storage space and spoilage risk.
6: “Generic Brand Decoder”
Prompt: List 20-name name-brand products where the generic is identical, and 10 where it’s worth paying more. Include why.
7: “Shopping List Optimizer”
Prompt: Reorganize my list by store layout to save time, and flag which items to buy elsewhere for 50% less.
Even though ChatGPT can help you analyze how to save money on your grocery bill, Lo recommends asking yourself what your level of expertise is before trusting the AI tool for bigger financial advice.
“If you have no financial experience or expertise whatsoever, it would be very dangerous to take any kind of financial advice from these large-language models at face value,” Lo said.
The tool, which has become extremely popular in recent years, may fall short in more complex areas, such as investment advice, retirement planning, and tax optimization, among others.
“If you don’t have access to a financial advisor, ask a family member, or a friend who has that financial expertise and run these recommendations by them,” Lo said.