About whether browser agents like Skyvern are useful for tasks such as online shopping.
Has this happened?
Yes 82 (74%)Not sure 14 (13%)No 15 (14%)
Votes cast 1–2 October 2026: 100,590 votes from 9,694 people.
Hacker News has set AI a lot of challenges over the years. Which ones has it met?
About whether browser agents like Skyvern are useful for tasks such as online shopping.
Votes cast 1–2 October 2026: 100,590 votes from 9,694 people.
Many of the examples given for agents such as this are things I just flat wouldn’t trust an LLM to do - buying something on Amazon for example: Will it pick new or ‘renewed’? Will it select an item that is from a janky looking vendor and may be counterfeit? Will it pick the cheapest option for me? What if multiple colors are offered?
This one example alone has so many branches that would require knowing what’s in my head.
On the flip side, it’s a ridiculously simple task for a human to do for themselves, so what am I truly saving?
Call me when I can ask it to check the professional reviews of X category on N websites (plus YouTube), summarize them for me, and find the cheapest source for the top 2 options in the category that will arrive in Y days or sooner.
That would be useful.