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Build an AI Shopping Assistant

IntermediateGuided Project

Create an AI-driven shopping assistant using Flask, SerpAPI, and LLMs. Integrate search engine APIs for real-time shopping data, and gain practical skills like query refinement with LLMs to automate product comparisons. This hands-on project walks you through combining APIs with advanced AI models like LLama to build intelligent, efficient applications. Whether you're new to AI or a pro developer, this guide offers valuable insights into building scalable, reusable, and impactful solutions for real-world use cases. In the end, you will have AI powered app that can help you shop smarter!

4.6 (99 Reviews)

Language

  • English

Topic

  • Artificial Intelligence

Enrollment Count

  • 376

Skills You Will Learn

  • Python, LLM, Generative AI, Flask, LangChain, AI Agent

Offered By

  • IBMSkillsNetwork

Estimated Effort

  • 45 minutes

Platform

  • SkillsNetwork

Last Update

  • August 5, 2025
About this Guided Project
Imagine you are looking to buy a new gadget, a gift, or a trending product like the latest vacuum robot and you need to browse the internet for countless hours being overwhelmed by the many available options. What if an AI app could help you narrow down your search? Whether you are on the hunt for some deals or you are searching for gift ideas for your loved ones on a special occasion you can leverage generative AI to optimize your search and make the best choices.

In today’s world of AI and automation, user expectations for intelligent applications are at an all-time high. This project teaches you how to integrate state-of-the-art AI technologies into a real-world solution, combining APIs and language models to deliver an unparalleled user experience.

Ready to create an intelligent AI-driven shopping assistant?
Opt for the quick setup and start exploring the app in under 10 minutes!

This guided project will take you through the process of building a web application that helps users find the best deals online. Combining Flask, Langchain, SerpAPI, and Meta's `llama-3-1-70b-instruct` LLM model hosted on IBM's watsonx, you’ll develop a sleek, AI-powered tool that refines user queries, fetches shopping results, generates structured outputs, compares products, and highlights deals—all in real-time.

What You’ll Build

Over the course of this project, you’ll:
  • Develop a Flask-based Web Application: Create an intuitive and responsive application interface for seamless interaction.
  • Leverage SerpAPI for Real-Time Shopping Results: Use SerpAPI to fetch the latest product information, including prices, ratings, and reviews, based on user queries.
  • Integrate LLMs for Query Refinement: Enhance search accuracy with AI-powered query refinement using lama-3-1-70b-instruct LLM, ensuring users get the most relevant results.
  • Generate Product Comparison Table and Structured AI-Powered Suggestions: Build automated comparison tables with HTML output for clear, side-by-side evaluation of products, to identify and emphasize the best deals specific to a desired geographical location, enhancing the user experience.

By the End of the Project

You’ll have:
  • A fully functional shopping assistant that refines searches, fetches deals, and compares products with AI precision.
  • Hands-on experience integrating APIs with advanced language models to create intelligent applications.
  • A deeper understanding of how to build and scale practical AI-driven solutions.


What You'll Need

Programming Knowledge: Basic familiarity with Python.
Web Browser: Use Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari for development and testing.
SerpAPI free API Key for querying Google searches (we’ll walk you through setting this up).
Cloud Environment: IBM Skills Network Labs provides a pre-configured workspace with all necessary tools and access to required LLMs.

Instructors

Faranak Heidari

Data Scientist at IBM

Detail-oriented data scientist and engineer, with a strong background in GenAI, applied machine learning and data analytics. Experienced in managing complex data to establish business insights and foster data-driven decision-making in complex settings such as healthcare. I implemented LLM, time-series forecasting models and scalable ML pipelines. Enthusiastic about leveraging my skills and passion for technology to drive innovative machine learning solutions in challenging contexts, I enjoy collaborating with multidisciplinary teams to integrate AI into their workflows and sharing my knowledge.

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Contributors

Wilbur Elbouni

Software Developer

I think computers are pretty cool!

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Hailey Quach

Data Scientist

Hi, I'm Hailey. I enjoy teaching others to build creative and impactful AI projects. By day, I’m a Data Scientist at IBM; by night, an Honors BSc student at Concordia University in Montreal, always exploring new ways to combine learning with innovation.

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Joseph Santarcangelo

Senior Data Scientist at IBM

Joseph has a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, his research focused on using machine learning, signal processing, and computer vision to determine how videos impact human cognition. Joseph has been working for IBM since he completed his PhD.

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Ricky Shi

Data Scientist at IBM

Ricky Shi is a Data Scientist at IBM, specializing in deep learning, computer vision, and Large Language Models. He applies advanced machine learning and generative AI techniques to solve complex challenges across various sectors. As an enthusiastic mentor, Ricky is committed to helping colleagues and peers master technical intricacies and drive innovation.

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