Here’s How ChatGPT Can Help Plan a Grocery List

Nobody loves grocery shopping more than I do. It brings me joy, and I honestly find it fun — but I’m very much aware that’s not the way everyone feels.

Even for someone like me, grocery shopping comes with challenges, especially when prices keep going up. Too tired to plan your list this week? Strategizing smarter grocery options on a budget? Or did you just vow to eat more fiber this year? It’s a lot to think about, but quite a few content creators think they may have found the answer — and it’s ChatGPT. 

Users on TikTok and Instagram are highlighting how they use the AI chatbot — which launched to much fanfare in 2022 — to create grocery lists, with rave reviews about how the tool is making their food shopping easier. According to their content, ChatGPT can customize a grocery list according to your specific needs, including budget, number of people within a household, dietary restrictions, and nutritional priorities. Some influencers have even provided examples of prompts that you can enter into the chatbot to generate your own grocery list — so I decided to put it to the test myself.

How do you use ChatGPT to create a grocery list?

If you’re unfamiliar with this AI tool, it’s easiest to think of it like a customer service help chat on a website. You go to chatgpt.com, and are immediately met with a box that says “Message ChatGPT.” This is where you’ll enter any prompts, questions, or tasks you want ChatGPT to help you with.

It’s easy to leverage the chatbot to build a grocery list, but you do need to be detailed and explicit. Tell the platform exactly what you’re looking for, and include any relevant information that might impact the kind of grocery list you want. You can be very precise and include details like the grocery store you shop at or how many people you need to feed based on one grocery shopping trip per week. Here’s an example of what I input into ChatGPT to generate my own grocery list:

I would like a grocery list that provides enough food for one full week, for a household with one person. I want to spend less than $100, I am a pescatarian, I shop at Wegmans, and I need easy lunches that I can bring to work.

I will note that I’m not actually a pescatarian, but I wanted to test the tool’s ability to customize a shopping list to dietary restrictions. The response I received was thorough and supplied suggested items across a variety of categories like proteins, vegetables, fruits, and pantry staples. Although I didn’t ask for it, ChatGPT also provided options for how to use the groceries. The suggestions were sparse, but several creators have noted that they asked the chatbot for recipes or meal plans based on the grocery list they were given — so if you want it to do every step of the food planning for the week, it can.

How much can ChatGPT customize your grocery list?

One of the most impressive aspects of ChatGPT’s ability to plan grocery lists is the degree to which it can adjust to meet your needs. After generating my initial list, I asked the AI to update its suggestions to support my desire to eat more protein. It already included protein options before that, but accurately amended the options to incorporate even more protein-rich ingredients, and also provided high-protein meal suggestions (like cottage cheese for breakfast).

I then requested a grocery list that was particularly rich in fiber, and the chatbot again successfully delivered a nutritionally accurate answer. (It even noted which ingredients on the list had a high fiber content, like lentils and sweet potatoes.)

TikTok creator @simplydigital recently revealed his grocery input for Chat GPT, where he gets especially specific about what he’s looking for. The influencer outlines how many grams of protein and calories he aims to consume each day to meet his training goals, and the AI tool customizes the grocery list accordingly, complete with the protein content per item.

Can ChatGPT help you save money on groceries?

Here’s where the platform doesn’t do such a great job. The list of food items it gave me all include an approximate price, but unfortunately several of these estimates aren’t close to would likely pay. Considering that I input my go-to grocery store, I assumed the prices provided would draw on that supermarket. However, protein and egg prices noted by ChatGPT were pretty far off from what Wegmans actually charges for those items.

According to the chatbot, I should be able to purchase one pound of shrimp for $8, but I can’t find a 1-pound bag of raw shrimp (fresh or frozen) at my Wegmans for under $15. The egg price given by AI is also off-base, with the estimated cost of one dozen eggs set at $3. In contrast, the lowest price for eggs at my Wegmans location is a little over $5. The estimated price of vegetables, fruits, and staple carbohydrates came a little closer to matching up with the price listed at my grocery store, especially for frozen produce and grains like brown rice and quinoa.

While perusing Instacart, I found that a few other supermarkets, like Walmart and Aldi, had lower prices that more consistently aligned with the budget allocated by ChatGPT. And some content creators have even documented that they ultimately spent less money than the chatbot predicted, so my experience isn’t universal. If you decide to try this technique to plan your weekly menu and shopping list, I recommend going with a lower-cost supermarket to help ensure you meet your budgetary goals. You should also be prepared to cut a few items off the list if you need to.

Using AI to plan out your grocery strategy isn’t for everyone. I enjoy the inherent creativity in thinking of what I want to cook each week, and I love pulling audibles once I’m at the store based on what looks good to me. But if you’re burnt out on meal planning and struggling to come up with ideas for what to purchase, or if you’re a parent with a packed schedule and tight budget, then it might be worth giving this hack a go.