Guide
How to build a shopping agent with MCP
Shopping tools alone don't make a good shopping agent. This guide covers the setup that does: connect gaisho over MCP, give the agent a shopping skill, answer quickly from category facts, then recommend with evidence.
Connect gaisho to your agent's host
gaisho is a remote MCP server at https://mcp.gaisho.co/mcp. Most hosts add it with one command or config entry, and the user signs in with Google; no key is typed anywhere. In Claude Code, run this, then /mcp to sign in. For scripts and sandboxes, an API key in the Authorization header works instead.
claude mcp add --scope user --transport http gaisho https://mcp.gaisho.co/mcpInstall the daily shopping skill
The skill tells your agent which tool to use when, and how to answer. It's the difference between an agent that has shopping tools and one that shops well. Save it as the skill named gaisho in your host's skill folder, or in its persistent instructions. Paste this setup prompt into your agent and it connects gaisho, installs the right skill for your host and checks that everything works.
Set up gaisho by following the instructions at https://gaisho.co/skill.mdAnswer first from the category overview
Most shopping questions start broad: a budget, a need, a category. Ground the first reply in a category overview: which type suits the need, what the budget buys and what the next step adds. Keep it to two to four sentences with at most three figures, and pass the shopper's needs as conditions so the figures cover only matching products.
Research products alongside it
If the question needs products, start the product search at the same time as the overview and send the first reply without waiting for it. A host that runs background tasks can hand the research to a worker that reuses the same connection; otherwise the agent continues in the foreground and doesn't promise a follow-up it can't deliver.
Check before you vouch
A search hit doesn't prove a product fits: check hard requirements against the listing details. Take the price, seller, coupon and link from the same offer. Before recommending a price or a store, run a price check and a seller check and relay their summaries.
Present options, then a recommendation
Show five to seven supported options with images and links: fewer if the shopper asks, and never padded. Then recommend: the best fit and why, the alternatives and their trade-offs, price context, and the evidence and gaps. Every number comes from the results.
Test with a real question
A saved configuration is not proof; only successful calls are. Ask a real shopping question, or “robot vacuum”, and check that the tools return data and the final answer uses it. A 401 means the sign-in or the key is missing.
Source: gaisho's install guide (gaisho.co/skill.md) and daily shopping skill (mcp.gaisho.co/shopping.md), as of Nov 6, 2026.