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

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:

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:

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

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 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.