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TechRadar

Lance Ulanoff

ChatGPT is now my holiday shopping guru and no, I'm not sorry

ChatGPT Android Samsung Garmin Google LG

Finding the right tech gift is complicated. There are the needs of the gift recipient, the availability of options, comparisons of features and specs, and your budget. As a tech expert, you'd think I'd have an easier time, but my brain is mostly overwhelmed with tech minutiae, and I struggle to boil it all down into a useful and timely decision. It's in these moments where artificial intelligence and a growing legion of generative, large language model chatbots can do the most good.

Put another way, I've been having a week-long conversation with ChatGPT 4o about what to get my mother-in-law, and while the AI has not entirely solved my problem, it gets huge points for patience, persistence, and memory.

My sharp-as-a-tack mother-in-law lives alone, and while she's steady on her feet, we do worry about her in an emergency situation like a fall, which led my wife and me to wonder if a wearable with fall detection might be a good gift.

As we talked, my wife eyed me as if she were waiting for something, and I realized it was a concrete answer: "Which wearable should we get her?" Since Mom is an Android phone user (her aging handset is from LG, a company that no longer makes phones), my first choice, an Apple Watch SE, was out of the question.

I've tested a few Android wearables, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra and the best Google Pixel Watches, but I couldn't recall which ones had built-in fall detection. I was preparing to do the research but, daunted by the task (read "lazy"), decided to give ChatGPT 4o a chance.

The shopping conversation

The benefit of using an AI chatbot is that you can ask complicated questions conversationally, and it'll almost always be smart enough to understand and respond.

Here was my initial prompt:
"I want to find a smartwatch or a fitness watch that has simple notifications, fall detection, and can send an emergency alert. It's for my mother-in-law who does not own an Apple Watch. It has to be Android-compatible. I want it to be incredibly easy to use and under $300."

I put it in once as a straight prompt to ChatGPT and then using ChatGPT search. Since I know that the latter uses the live web to inform its results, I assumed the answer would be more timely and accurate. It turned out that both responses were accurate and more helpful than I anticipated.

ChatGPT replied, "For your mother-in-law, an Android-compatible smartwatch that offers simple notifications, fall detection, and emergency alert capabilities under $300 would be ideal. Here are some recommendations:"

It then listed the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, Google Pixel Watch 2, and the Amazfit GTR 4. The two last-gen smartwatches were canny choices because new models like the Pixel Watch 3 and Galaxy Watch 7 would be more expensive and probably break my $300 limit.

Then, like a conspiratorial friend, ChatGPT whispered, "Given the ongoing Black Friday deals, you might find these watches at even lower prices. For instance, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 is currently available at a discounted price." It then cited The Verge as a source for that tidbit. Miffed that it didn't use TechRadar but still impressed, I decided to change tacts.

Narrowing our choices

As much as I love smartwatch technology, I worried that these wearables might still be a little too complicated – at least regarding setup – for my mother-in-law. In these conversations with ChatGPT, I like to treat it as I would a friend who always knows what I'm talking about and can pick up the context even if I didn't restate the whole premise. I entered this new prompt:

"Are there any fitness wearables that also provide fall detection? I don't necessarily need a whole smartwatch."

ChatGPT correctly noted that fitness trackers are fixated on activity and won't all include fall detection. Still, it did find a few Garmin devices, including the Garmin Forerunner 45 (sourced from Wikipedia[!]), the Garmin Venu Sq 2 (Verge), and the Garmin Forerunner 245 (Wikipedia again).

ChatGPT pointed out the balance of fitness tracking and safety features like "incident detection" which it noted "could be beneficial to my mother-in-law". But ChatGPT wasn't done. Unlike my friends who might hold off giving a recommendation, ChatGPT boldly declared, "Considering your mother-in-law's needs, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 stands out for its user-friendly interface and comprehensive features within your budget."

But the thing is, ChatGPT missed a key level of detail that made its suggestion untenable. "Incident detection" on these Garmin watches focuses on mishaps during activity, not the kind of random fall that can happen to the elderly at any time.

Undaunted, I asked ChatGPT to focus on a more feminine design (some fitness wearables can be quite bulky and masculine) and the simplest UI. ChatGPT had now fixated on the Garmin Venu Sq 2 and listed all the ways it was perfect, even though it acknowledged that incident detection and assistance features "are typically active during specific activities and require the watch to be connected to a smartphone."

We went back and forth like this without quite landing on the right device. Separately, my wife and I looked at LifeAlert, a 24/7 service and wearable with a subscription fee. It has no smartwatch capabilities and instead focuses on detecting falls and other emergencies and getting help. It also never needs to be charged.

I hadn't given up on ChatGPT. A few days later, we picked up the conversation. I offered no context but continued in the prompt thread, "So, I need real, 24/7 fall detection, long battery life, ease of use, Android compatibility, and something a woman would wear. All of that for under $300."

ChatGPT admitted that finding what I was looking for could "be challenging," but it also recommended the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6. It was one of its initial favorites, claiming it had better ease of use thanks to the rotating bezel (I can kind of agree that a hardware control works nicely for someone unfamiliar with wearable technology), and pointed to Bixby and Google Assistant as enhancing usability. I think the existence of two digital assistants on one device might be confusing, but maybe that's just me. It also highlighted the $250 price tag and a high degree of Android compatibility (I still have no idea if my mother-in-law's aging LG has an OS up-to-date enough to support these newer smartwatches).

Then I finally asked the big question: is LifeAlert a better option here? Again, no context other than that prompt. Oh, and did I mention that I accidentally called it "LifeLock"? ChatGPT, like the good friend it is, forgave my foibles and translated my nonsense into a detailed comparison of emergency alert systems like LifeAlert versus smartwatches.

It then summarized with this:
"If your mother-in-law values a device with multiple functionalities and is comfortable with technology, a smartwatch like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 could be beneficial. However, if she prefers a dedicated, easy-to-use emergency system with professional monitoring, a medical alert system such as Life Alert may be more appropriate."

You see? I feel like ChatGPT gets me. It's analytical but also almost caring. Granted, I'm no closer to a resolution on this purchase than I was a week ago, but at least I feel better informed. I'm now considering asking ChatGPT to go shopping for me...as if.