Find Alternatives

Search for alternative products across retailers and review sites, save research data incrementally to disk, rank the top 5 alternatives on a 1–5 scale, and deliver a clean HTML comparison report with direct product links.

When to Apply

Activate when the user:

• Asks for alternatives to a product they're viewing or considering
• Says "something like this but cheaper / better / different"
• Wants to explore options before buying
• Asks "what else is out there" for a product category

Workflow

Phase 1 — Understand the Product

1. Identify the reference product. Use

   get_active_page

   and

   get_page_content

   to understand what the user is currently looking at — product name, brand, price, key features, category.
2. Confirm with the user:
   • Price range — same range, cheaper, or open budget? If unclear, default to ±30% of the reference product's price.
   • Key criteria — what matters most? (e.g., price, quality, brand, specific features)
   • Any exclusions — brands or stores to skip
3. Create output directory. Use

   evaluate_script

   to create in your working directory:

   alternatives-<product-slug>/
   ├── raw/              ← per-source research data
   ├── findings.md       ← running notes and rankings
   └── report.html       ← final HTML report
   

Phase 2 — Research Alternatives

create_hidden_window

new_hidden_page

Search targets (adapt to product category):

{product category} alternatives under ${budget}

best {product category} alternatives {year} reddit

{product category} vs comparison {year}

{product category}

{product category}

{product category}

For each tab:

navigate_page

get_page_content

navigate_page

get_page_content

evaluate_script

raw/{n}-{source-slug}.json

close_page

Raw Data Format (

raw/{n}-{source-slug}.json

)

{
  "source": "Amazon",
  "source_url": "https://www.amazon.com/...",
  "products": [
    {
      "name": "Product Name",
      "brand": "Brand",
      "product_url": "https://...",
      "price": 149.99,
      "currency": "USD",
      "rating": "4.3/5",
      "review_count": 1250,
      "key_features": ["feature 1", "feature 2"],
      "availability": "In Stock",
      "image_url": "https://..."
    }
  ],
  "extracted_at": "2025-03-11T10:30:00Z"
}

Phase 3 — Rank & Synthesize

After all sources are saved:

1. Read each raw file from

   raw/

   using

   evaluate_script

   .
2. Deduplicate — the same product may appear across multiple retailers. Group by product, keep the best price.
3. Select the top 5 alternatives based on:
   • Price relative to budget
   • User ratings and review volume
   • Feature match to the user's criteria
   • Availability
4. Rate each alternative 1–5 on a composite scale:

5. Write

   findings.md

   with the full ranking, reasoning, and source references:

# Alternatives for: {Reference Product}

**Reference price:** $X
**Budget range:** $X – $Y
**Date:** {current date}

## Top 5 Alternatives

### 1. {Product Name} — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5/5)
- **Price:** $X at {Retailer}
- **Why:** {1–2 sentence justification}
- **Link:** {product URL}
- _Source: raw/{n}-{slug}.json_

### 2. {Product Name} — ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4/5)
...

## Comparison vs Reference

| Feature | Reference | Alt 1 | Alt 2 | Alt 3 | Alt 4 | Alt 5 |
|---------|-----------|-------|-------|-------|-------|-------|
| Price   | $X        | $X    | $X    | $X    | $X    | $X    |
| Rating  | 4.2/5     | 4.5/5 | 4.3/5 | 4.1/5 | 3.9/5 | 4.0/5 |

Phase 4 — HTML Report

Generate a self-contained

report.html

#ffffff

Use

evaluate_script

Phase 5 — Open & Notify

close_window

new_page

file://{path}/report.html

Tool Reference

get_active_page

create_hidden_window

close_window

new_hidden_page

close_page

new_page

navigate_page

get_page_content

evaluate_script

Tips

• Save after every source. Never accumulate all research data in memory.
• 10 tabs max at a time. Batch if there are more sources.
• Deduplicate across retailers — the same product on Amazon and Walmart should appear once with the best price noted.
• If the reference product is niche, broaden the search to the general category rather than exact alternatives.
• Include at least one budget option and one premium option to give the user a range.
• If a product has very few reviews (under 50), note the low confidence in the rating.