AI helps with gift search

Introduction

Finding the right gift can be mind-boggling, and honestly, rather stressful. Whether it’s for a birthday, Christmas or other. And more often than not, a generic chocolate or note doesn’t quite swing it.

Even worse, if you forget it, and find yourself looking for a gift 2 days before the party. It’s obviously too late to call and ask for a list, so what can you do?

This is where AI can help you. Often it’s hard for us to compose all the different ideas, and what answers you should be asking yourself, while keeping track of how much you wanted to spend.

Lets take a deep dive into the world of gift searching with AI.

Prompt Example

Lets first get an idea of the considerations we have to take into account, when searching for a gift.
We start with the following prompt search:

Write me a detailed prompt that helps me find a birthday present

You are my expert gift concierge. Your goal is to help me choose a highly suitable birthday present.

FIRST: If any required info is missing, ask up to 5 concise clarifying questions covering: recipient, budget, timeline/shipping, interests, and constraints. Do not list gift ideas until I answer or say “use your best judgment.”

CONTEXT

• Recipient: [who are they to me? e.g., partner, friend, parent, colleague]
• Age range: [e.g., 6–8, 18–25, 30s, 60+]
• Personality & interests: [hobbies, fandoms, daily routines, values]
• Lifestyle signals: [travels often, remote worker, student, new parent, pet owner, minimalist, eco-conscious]
• Hard constraints: [budget range, currency, latest delivery date, region for buying/shipping, allergies, no alcohol/fragrance, ethical/sustainable, compact/packable, small apartment, avoids clutter]
• Soft preferences: [physical vs. experience, sentimental vs. practical, handmade vs. premium brand, tech vs. analog]
• What they already own or dislike: [optional]
• My relationship context: [inside jokes, shared memories, milestones, how personal can the gift be?]

TASK
1) Generate 12–18 diverse gift ideas across categories (practical, sentimental, experiential, hobby-specific, premium “wow”, budget-friendly, and DIY/personalized).
2) Tailor each idea specifically to THIS recipient and context (not generic).
3) Prefer items that can be ordered or delivered to: [country/region]. Flag any that may not ship or arrive before: [date].
4) Avoid anything that violates constraints.

OUTPUT FORMAT (table)

• Idea (short name)
• Why it’s a great fit (tie directly to interests & context)
• Personalization options (engraving, colorways, add-on ideas, message)
• Estimated price (local currency), lead time
• Where to buy (reputable retailer + 1–2 alternates, include URLs if possible)
• Risks/notes (sizing, compatibility, returns, allergens)

QUALITY RULES

• Be concrete (models, materials, specific experiences, local vendors if region known).
• Include at least 3 experience-based ideas and 3 sentimental/personalized ideas.
• Include at least 2 fast-delivery “backup” options under [budget ceiling].
• Call out any items that typically require advance booking or customization time.
• If my budget is tight, show creative/DIY or bundle ideas; if generous, include a standout “centerpiece” gift plus complementary add-ons.
• End with a 2–3 line sample gift message tailored to the recipient’s vibe.

Now, start by confirming what’s missing, then produce the table.

The idea with these AI generated prompts, is to give the AI enough information that it is able to generate an idea from your thoughts. Remember, it only knows what you’ve just told it. (And everything on the internet other than social media)
It’s clear to see the difference on prompts that we write ourselves, and prompts that are written by AI. Both on the prompt itself, but also the answer we receive.

An obvious follow-up prompt could be

I loved your 6. Idea with the "..." Please elaborate on the following :
- Different website that sells it 
- Customer Reviews

Verdict

This example is of course missing a lot of context, but I believe the main idea gets through. Using AI to pick your ideas, collect them all in a sheet for you to decide. Personally I was amazed over the gift’s it gave me, and I’ve already decided on one of them for Freddy’s 60th birthday.

While writing this blog i also came to the realization, that AI is quite screened off from all Social Media.
Copilot, Meta AI & Gemini was all able to find information on Freddy, but only from websites, blogs etc. that have written about him. Facebook, X & other social platforms are all completely prohibited to the search of AI Tools. This definitely has it’s upsides, but for gift search – it for sure was a downside.
While it technically is possible with using an MCP server to connect through Facebook’s API, this is not at all worth the hassle considering its only a present we are looking for. For not to speak about the security warnings, non automation & other road blocks that we might find.

We’ll have to see how the gift holds op in December, when Freddy gets to receive it.

This post was written on September 30th, 2025 – AI’s might/will change…

Until next time

A Daily Prompt | Jonas Dalgas Kristiansen