| name | find-alternatives |
| description | Find alternative products to something the user is looking at or considering. Searches across retailers and review sites, compares options, and delivers a ranked HTML report with ratings, pricing, and direct links. Use when the user asks for alternatives, similar products, or "something like this but..." |
| metadata | {"display-name":"Find Alternatives","enabled":"true","version":"1.0"} |
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
- 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.
- 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
- 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
| Step | Tool | Detail |
|---|
| Open hidden window | create_hidden_window | Dedicated research workspace |
| Search in parallel | new_hidden_page | Open up to 10 tabs concurrently across search targets |
Search targets (adapt to product category):
| Tab | Target | Query |
|---|
| 1 | Google Shopping | <product category> alternatives under $<budget> |
| 2 | Google Search | best <product category> alternatives <year> reddit |
| 3 | Google Search | <product category> vs comparison <year> |
| 4 | Amazon | <product category> filtered to price range |
| 5 | Walmart | <product category> in price range |
| 6 | Best Buy / category retailer | <product category> |
| 7–10 | Review sites, Reddit threads, or niche retailers relevant to the category | |
For each tab:
| Step | Tool | Detail |
|---|
| Navigate | navigate_page | Go to the search URL |
| Read results | get_page_content | Extract search results as markdown |
| Visit promising results | navigate_page | Click through to individual product pages and review articles |
| Extract data | get_page_content | Pull product details — name, price, features, ratings, reviews |
| Save immediately | evaluate_script | Write to raw/<n>-<source-slug>.json (see format below) |
| Close tab | close_page | Free the tab after saving |
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:
- Read each raw file from
raw/ using evaluate_script.
- Deduplicate — the same product may appear across multiple retailers. Group by product, keep the best price.
- Select the top 5 alternatives based on:
- Price relative to budget
- User ratings and review volume
- Feature match to the user's criteria
- Availability
- Rate each alternative 1–5 on a composite scale:
| Rating | Meaning |
|---|
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 | Excellent match — great price, high ratings, strong features |
| ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4 | Very good — minor trade-offs |
| ⭐⭐⭐ 3 | Decent — good in some areas, weaker in others |
| ⭐⭐ 2 | Fair — notable compromises |
| ⭐ 1 | Marginal — only worth considering for a specific reason |
- 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 in the output directory:
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|
| Theme | Light background (#ffffff), clean sans-serif typography, generous whitespace |
| Header | "Alternatives for: ", date, budget range |
| Reference product card | Show the original product with its price, rating, and link as the baseline |
| Top 5 cards | Each alternative as a card showing: rank, name, rating (star visualization), price, key features, and a clickable "View Product" link to the actual product page |
| Comparison table | Side-by-side table with the reference product and all 5 alternatives — price, rating, key features, pros/cons |
| Rating explanation | Brief note on how the 1–5 rating was determined |
| Product links | Every product name and "View Product" button must be a clickable <a href> to the actual product URL |
| Source references | Footer section listing all sources consulted with links |
| Self-contained | All styles in a <style> block — no external CSS or JS |
| Responsive | Readable on desktop and mobile |
| Footer | "Generated by BrowserOS Find Alternatives" with date |
Use evaluate_script to write the HTML file.
Phase 5 — Open & Notify
| Step | Tool | Detail |
|---|
| Close hidden window | close_window | Clean up the research workspace |
| Open report | new_page | Open file://<path>/report.html in the user's active window |
| Notify user | — | Summarize the top pick, mention the report path, and highlight any standout findings |
Tool Reference
| Category | Tools Used |
|---|
| Page info | get_active_page |
| Window management | create_hidden_window, close_window |
| Tab management | new_hidden_page, close_page, new_page |
| Navigation | navigate_page |
| Content extraction | get_page_content |
| Data & file I/O | 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 (<50), note the low confidence in the rating.
