Real Agent Cases

Build a biweekly grocery list on a $175 budget with Gemini

Posted
by Elton Jones (Tom's Guide)
Last checked
Method:
How we verify

Evidence: Article or interviewA newsletter, journalist or interview account of what happened.

Context: In a comparison test: from a head-to-head chatbot review, not a standalone agent test.

Beginner-friendlyNo logins, payments or coding needed. Low risk: paste the prompt and you should get something useful.

Outcome

Tom's Guide's Elton Jones gave Gemini and ChatGPT the same prompt: a $175 biweekly grocery budget, the foods he usually buys, and a request for a categorized, priced table. Gemini said $175 over two weeks was realistic if he balanced splurges like steak and shrimp with rice and potatoes, and gave a table by category, item, quantity and estimated cost with a total. ChatGPT's similar chart added items he doesn't usually buy, like eggs and shredded cheese. He picked Gemini as the better financial adviser overall.

Agent

Gemini, ChatGPT

Prompt Original prompt

Exact prompt as published in the source.

My biweekly grocery budget is $175. I like to buy chicken breast, frozen shrimp, vegetables, steak, rice, mashed potatoes, and assorted snacks. Provide a categorized grocery list in a table and estimate the price for each item.
Optional stronger version

Our rewrite with extra checks. The poster didn't test it.

Run this task now, exactly as written below. Everything you need is here, so start straight away and only stop if something required is missing or a rule below tells you to.

Goal: Turn my grocery budget and usual foods into a categorized shopping list with estimated prices that stays under budget.

Fill in before running:
- Budget and period: [e.g. $175 every two weeks]
- Foods I usually buy: [LIST]
- Store I shop at: [STORE]
- People I'm feeding: [NUMBER]

You're not my accountant or financial adviser. Show your working, label estimates as estimates, and tell me which points a professional or the official source should confirm.

Rules:
- Stick to foods I listed; ask before adding anything new.
- Give a table: category, item, quantity, estimated price, with a total.
- Balance pricier items with cheaper staples to stay under budget.
- Label prices as estimates and suggest checking the store's app.
- Check facts that can change (prices, opening hours, dates, availability, rules) against the official source, and tell me anything you couldn't verify.
- If there's money left, suggest one or two extras from my own list rather than new items.

Output: A categorized table with a total and how much budget is left.

You'll know it worked when: the list covers my usual foods, totals under my budget, and adds nothing I didn't ask for.

Before you finish: re-read my goal and constraints, check your answer against each one, and list anything you assumed or couldn't confirm.

Source

https://www.tomsguide.com/ai/i-tested-gemini-vs-chatgpt-for-money-management-heres-which-one-helped-me-the-most

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