dupe_skill

Overview

This skill finds visually and semantically similar products by querying dupe.com APIs for a product page or an image URL provided by the user. It returns scored matches with price, store, thumbnail, and a direct link so users can compare alternatives quickly. The skill is designed for shopping assistance, price comparison, and product discovery workflows.

How this skill works

Given a product page URL or a direct image URL, the skill sends a request to dupe.com to retrieve ranked matches. The API response includes match metadata (title, score, price, source, link, thumbnail) and an overall total count. The skill surfaces the top results in a compact list so users can inspect alternatives and follow direct links to vendor pages.

When to use it

• User asks for cheaper or higher-quality alternatives to a specific product.
• User wants visually similar items from other retailers based on a product page.
• User provides an image and needs matching products across online stores.
• Integrating into a shopping assistant, comparator, or discovery workflow.
• Verifying if a product is sold across multiple marketplaces.

Best practices

• Provide a product page URL when available for the richest results (metadata + image).
• If only an image is available, supply a direct image URL for visual matching; set a sensible result limit (default 7).
• Check match scores to prioritize high-confidence results; use price.extracted_value for numeric comparisons.
• Consider refreshing queries for time-sensitive pricing or stock changes.
• Respect source links and verify details on the vendor page before purchase.

Example use cases

• Find lower-cost alternatives for a furniture piece from a retailer product page.
• Given a product photo, discover visually similar lamps or accessories across multiple stores.
• Integrate into a chatbot to present shoppers with top alternative listings and prices.
• Power a merchant dashboard that identifies competing listings and price positioning.
• Help buyers locate the same item across regional marketplaces and compare availability.