Muse Price Comparison Test: Let AI Open JD, Taobao and Pinduoduo and Check Prices Itself
Muse can open Taobao/Tmall, JD and Pinduoduo by itself, search the product on each one, read the price store by store, and hand you a single comparison table. There is no extension to install and no three tabs to manage.
This is a record of one run, on October 2, 2026. One iPhone Duo, three platforms: JD, Taobao/Tmall and Pinduoduo.
The browser doing the work runs in its own cloud Linux environment. You say one line in the chat box, and it opens pages, searches, walks into stores and reads prices. You can watch it work, and page screenshots come back into the conversation.
Its browser and your phone are two separate things, so your login state does not carry over. The first time you use a given platform, you sign in once.
Step 1: Ask it whether it can do this
Before starting I asked it directly whether it could compare prices across platforms. Its answer:
Browsing and comparing were fine. Checkout could not be fully automatic. Its browser is independent of my phone, so my logged-in state on Taobao and JD does not carry over. And none of its supported wallet payment methods settle in RMB.
Step 2: Say what you want
What I actually typed: "I want to buy the new iPhone Duo. Go to JD, Taobao and Pinduoduo, compare prices and compare stores." Product, platforms, and what to compare, in one line.
It replied that it had started searching all three platforms at once and would check price and availability store by store.
Step 3: All three platforms searched at once
The results came back fast. Official domestic channels were flat at ¥15,999 for 256GB, with the real preorder not opening until October 16 at 20:00, so everything available now was a reservation or a preorder. On Taobao, the official China Mobile and China Unicom flagship stores were the safest, selling at the official price with nationwide warranty. JD was blocked behind its login wall, so the in-site price could not be confirmed. Pinduoduo had no real units.
It also flagged a trap without being asked. The two ¥18,999 listings on Taobao were Hong Kong, US and Japan versions, eSIM only, ¥3,000 above the domestic model.
The fact that all three quoted the same price comes later. JD first.
Step 4: I did the JD login myself
JD only shows in-site pricing after login. It stopped at the login page and could only report the preorder price from press coverage. Its suggestion was to open the page, let me take over and sign in, then carry on.
So I signed in to JD myself in that cloud browser, and had it go into the Apple flagship store on JD's self-operated channel. All four storage tiers matched the official prices, and the preorder rules checked out: reservations close October 16 at 19:30, sales open at 20:00.
Step 5: Pinduoduo had no real units
Before launch, Pinduoduo genuinely had no real units. The search returned 3D-printed models and phone cases, and the subsidy channel carried nothing for this model.
It did not produce a number to fill the gap. It said it found nothing and told me to check again after launch.
The comparison table
After five steps, Muse compiled all three platforms into one table.
All three domestic channels quoted the same number to the yuan, ¥15,999. With price out of the picture, what separated them was the reservation deadline, the purchase limit, the delivery window, whether in-person activation is required, and who handles problems afterward. Digging all of that up yourself across three platforms takes a while.
Who does what
| Step | Who | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Open platforms, search the product | Muse | All three run at once |
| Read prices store by store, verify the model | Muse | It reports what the page says |
| Record preorder, purchase-limit, delivery and after-sales rules | Muse | Compiled into a comparison table |
| Sign in to a shopping account | You | The cloud browser has no login state of yours; sign in once |
| Checkout and payment | You | Do not hand this step to an AI |
A few rules, all of which I actually followed in this run:
- Do the login yourself. When you hit a login wall, take over the browser and type your credentials into the web form, not the chat box. Hand the page back when you are done.
- Stop before payment. Payment does not get handed over. Every step halts before it for a human decision.
- Spell out platforms and specs. Full product name, storage tier or spec, which platforms, which fields, all in one go. Mismatched specs are the killer. Mix 256GB and 512GB in one table and it means nothing.
- Check one row yourself. Open the JD self-operated page and eyeball the price. It reads pages quickly, but a redesign or a moved page element can make it read the wrong thing.
I have run these instructions exactly once. A different product, a different platform, or a site redesign, and it may not go this smoothly.
Frequently asked questions
Can Muse really open JD, Taobao and Pinduoduo and compare prices by itself?
All three platforms charged the same price, so what is the point?
Why did I have to sign in to JD myself?
Can I let Muse place the order and pay?
Will the AI fake a search and invent a price?
Does this approach work for other products?
Related guides
- Muse Tutorial: Skip the Waitlist — not on Muse yet? Get past the region block and the waitlist with a cloud desktop
- Register a Claude Account with Muse — the same division of labor, AI drives the browser and you own the credentials, in a different setting
- Meta Muse Tutorials Hub — every Muse guide on the site
What comes next
This stops at the day before preorders opened. After October 16 I will come back and add two things: whether Pinduoduo's subsidy channel listed the model, and which store I actually ordered from and when it arrived.