Buy By Prompt
BTC

When not to let an agent buy

Shopping agents should fill matrices and maybe carts. They should not have unbounded checkout. A deny-list and a promotion path.

Default: the agent does not complete checkout. It may research, compare, and even stage a cart. A human (or a hard cap + confirm) spends.

Deny-list

  • Anything above a number you wrote down while sober
  • Subscriptions with nasty cancel paths
  • Marketplace sellers with no returns
  • Medical, legal, child-safety products
  • “Limited drop” pressure that disables thinking
  • Accounts that store your card in a vendor you have not read

Promote later only if

  • Shopping agent scorecard is a 4+ on caps and trace
  • You have a monthly spend ceiling that actually fires
  • Receipts land where you look
  • You can undo (returns) in a timeframe you accept

Until then, use buy / wait / skip and place the order yourself. That is not Luddism. That is human in the loop for money.