A dedicated shopping agent
Alcy is an agent built to do one thing extremely well: shop.
All purpose agents are flooding the market — they promise to do almost everything but fall short on specialized tasks
Alcy is an agent built to do one thing extremely well: web traversal.
Send Alcy an item to investigate, and it works to understand every way a vendor might list it. One store might call a pair of jeans “ERL Breakwater Wash Denim,” while another calls them “Lightwash Jeans by ERL.” Alcy follows both leads and checks whether they match the exact pair you want. A difference in naming should not cause a promising listing to be overlooked.
Alcy seeks to understand who carries the item you are interested in. Its search reaches beyond the storefronts that have spent the most money getting in front of you.
The best place to look today might be different from the best place to look yesterday. That is why Alcy does not keep returning to a fixed vendor list. A shop that opened a month ago and one that has been operating for 100 years can both carry the item you want. Alcy investigates both and evaluates their listings on the same terms, giving you the information you need to make an informed decision.
Good search requires domain expertise
As AI has become more common in the workplace, we have quickly seen its strengths and weaknesses. Software engineering is a clear example: in Stack Overflow’s 2026 Developer Survey, 66% of respondents reported using AI coding assistants or coding agents at work. Stack Overflow’s survey. Software engineers and data scientists have brought their domain expertise to building and refining these tools.
Other tasks present different challenges. Creating a polished PowerPoint deck requires pictures and text to be aligned, spacing to be consistent and slides to read clearly. We have seen a proliferation of AI presentation tools focused on these challenges. That is the value of domain expertise: designing a tool around the specific demands of the task.
Web search is no different. Alcy was built by engineers who spent years working at web traversal companies. Knowing where to navigate and how to get past site challenges is something Alcy is very adept at, because it is a primary challenge in retail search and web traversal.
* Screenshot via @pejmanjohn on X (Twitter).
An all purpose agent is an amazing resource. Domain expertise is essential to getting the details right when a task becomes specialized.
Case study
01 · The request
When the agent can do almost anything.
Horizontal agents can be very useful. Their breadth means you can ask the same assistant for help with a shopping search, a reservation or a project. But a specific task can benefit from an agent built to pursue it in depth.
Consider this exchange with a leading all purpose agent. The request was straightforward: find the Alaïa burnt-orange fishnet ballet flats in size 36 at the lowest price.
02 · The horizontal agent’s answer
“Nobody’s really discounting them.”
The agent concluded that the flats were current season and that there was little room to improve on the price. It reported Moda Operandi at $950–$960 shipped, or about $1,045 with New York tax, against Alaïa’s own retail price of $990.
That answer suggested the search had reached its limit.
03 · The follow-up
A useful assistant. A clunky experience.
The follow-ups moved to the gym, reading, calling family and keeping a project on track, then to reservations, returns and another price hunt.
Those are all things someone might want help with. Here, though, the conversation shifted from one specific shopping goal to a broad menu of possible tasks. In the context of finding a pair of shoes, this feels more like an effort to engage with the user than to provide real value.
A dedicated shopping agent has a clearer focus: keep investigating the item, the size and the options that matter to this request.
04 · The dedicated agent’s find
There was another lead to follow.
Alcy’s earlier search surfaced the same burnt-orange style at Smets for €592.50, with size 36 in stock at the time and free international shipping on orders over €250.
That was a concrete listing the horizontal agent’s answer had not surfaced. It gave the customer another option to investigate, beyond the conclusion that nobody was really discounting the shoes.
This is why we are building a dedicated agent. Alcy’s focus is to follow the leads that matter to your shopping request and bring the useful ones back to you.
Alaïa Fishnet Ballet Flats in Burnt Orange
smets.lu
New
€592.50 EUR
Item price; duties and taxes not shown
- Size 36 available when checked
- Free international shipping on orders over €250
- Burnt orange · AA3A029TK061A50
Shoppers already indicate they want dedicated shopping assistants
Shoppers see real value in AI that helps them compare. A recent study of 13,500 consumers by Deloitte found that 48% selected price comparison among the AI capabilities they expect to become most important over the next 12–24 months, compared with 16% for autonomous checkout. Deloitte’s research
That is where Alcy focuses: investigating the item you want, finding the stores that carry it, and checking the details that matter—including the sizes carried, the authenticity of the item, and relevant taxes, shipping costs, and duties. A dedicated shopping agent can concentrate on answering those questions thoroughly, giving you better information to make your own decision.
Give Alcy a try
Alcy has been trained on web traversal, and that is its only task.
It is free to use. You may discover a store you did not know about and save some money in the process.
Historical example: the Smets item price and size-36 availability reflect the earlier search. Duties and taxes are not included in the euro price. Source: Smets listing.
Help Alcy find your storefront
If you sell items buyers are looking for, Alcy will seek out your storefront. Partner with us so we can work with you to ensure Alcy can reliably reach your domain and navigate your product listings.