Glossary · products.ai docs

Preview: products.ai chat, MCP and API access open soon. These terms describe them as they work at launch.

This glossary defines the words Pius Bot uses in its reports, and the words these docs use for shops and access. The linked pages go deeper.

Who is Pius Bot?

Pius Bot is the AI shopping assistant from products.ai. It turns your question into a brief, picks the product that fits it from the knowledge base, and only then finds a shop that has it in stock and delivers to you. Pius is the line-drawn shopping cart you see around the site. See What products.ai is.

What do the words in a report mean?

They name the parts of Pius Bot's answer, from the brief at the top to the receipts behind each claim. See Read the report.

Term	What it means
Brief	Your question turned into what Pius checks against: budget, use and must-haves. It shows as chips such as "Under €300" and "For travel".
Knowledge base	Where Pius looks before any shop: the catalog, product records matched by barcode, guides, reviews, forums, news and recalls.
Shortlist	The few products left after Pius filters on your brief, weighed on what matters to you. In the headphones example, 48 became 3.
Best fit	The product that matches your brief best. Pius chooses it on fit alone, before it looks at a single shop.
Why not	A one-line reason for each product Pius passed on. Example: Bose QC Ultra, €35,85 over budget.
Watch for	A trade-off in the pick to know before you buy, such as a rival with a longer battery.
Receipt (citation)	A numbered mark like [1] that points to the source behind a claim, for example "Knowledge base · Sony WH-1000XM5 · GTIN 4548736132580". Use it to check the claim yourself.

What do the words about shops mean?

They describe where Pius Bot tells you to buy, which it settles only after it has picked the product. See Where to buy.

Term	What it means
Merchant offer	A listing a shop publishes, with price, stock and delivery. Pius takes prices only from these and never writes one itself.
Listed date	The date a shop listed its offer, shown with the offer. An older listing keeps its date, for example "last listed 18 July".
Best pick	The shop Pius recommends you buy the best-fit product from: it has it in stock, delivers to you and is clear about returns.
Second chance	An offer outside your brief that may still be worth a look, such as a refurbished one when you asked for new. It sits next to the pick, not in its place.
Local coverage	The shops Pius checks in your country, and which of them sell and deliver the product. Shops in your country come first.
Affiliate link	A link to a shop that can earn a commission if you buy after clicking. Links are added after the pick, and every one is flagged. See Affiliate links.

Tip: Best fit is about the product, best pick is about the shop. Pius settles the first before it looks at the second.

What is a GTIN, EAN or UPC?

It is the number under a product's barcode. GTIN (Global Trade Item Number) is the umbrella name; EAN is the 13-digit form used in Europe and much of the world, UPC the 12-digit form used mainly in the US and Canada. GS1 manages the standard.

Pius Bot matches products on this number, not on their name, so it knows when two shops sell the exact same box. A look-alike model or another color has its own number: the black De'Longhi Magnifica S (ECAM 22.115.B) is GTIN 8004399022911, and the silver ECAM 22.110.SB has a barcode of its own.

What do MCP, MCP URL and API mean?

They are the ways to use products.ai data outside the chat, in your AI assistant or your own product. Request access at /#access.

Term	What it means
MCP	Model Context Protocol, an open standard that lets AI assistants connect to outside tools and data. Through it, an MCP client such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini can ask products.ai for products and offers. See MCP.
MCP URL	The address you add to your MCP client to connect it to products.ai. It comes with your access; setup differs per platform.
API	Application programming interface: how your own app or site asks products.ai for products, offers and picks in code. See API.