As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly choose inventory management software for your shop.

What to actually do

1. Use a tool built for this

   The route this page recommends

2. Do it yourself

   Second choice

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 1 hour until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open a blank document and record your shop type, locations, active SKUs, sales channels, current till, ecommerce and accounting systems, users, stock workflows, must-have features, budget and implementation date.
   2. Export or assemble a representative sample of products, variants, suppliers, purchase orders, sales, returns and stock adjustments, removing customer personal data before sharing anything.
   3. Paste the completed details and the sample data description into the prompt, then ask the model for a shortlist that excludes any product failing a must-have requirement.
   4. Open the supplier websites and documentation for every shortlisted product, and compare each claimed feature, integration, export option, price condition and contract term with the model's cited evidence.
   5. Send each supplier the same requirements and ask them to confirm the unresolved features, data migration process, support arrangements, cancellation terms and any extra charges in writing.
   6. Run the prompt's test script in demonstrations or trials using your sample products, orders, returns and stock adjustments, then record where the results differ from your current process.
   7. Update the weighted scores with verified evidence, discuss the migration and training workload with the people who will use the system, and choose only after the preferred supplier confirms the remaining conditions.

   Prompt

   I run a UK shop and need to choose inventory management software. Help me create a shortlist and recommendation, but do not make the final decision for me.
   
   My details:
   - Shop type: [describe the shop]
   - Number of locations: [number]
   - Approximate number of active SKUs: [number]
   - Sales channels: [shop, website, marketplaces, wholesale or other]
   - Current till, ecommerce and accounting systems: [list them]
   - Purchasing and supplier requirements: [describe them]
   - Stock features needed: [for example, variants, bundles, purchase orders, barcode scanning, low-stock alerts, batch or expiry tracking]
   - Users and permissions needed: [describe them]
   - Reporting requirements: [describe them]
   - Budget or acceptable pricing model: [state it, or say unknown]
   - Must-have integrations: [list them]
   - Location and connectivity constraints: [describe them]
   - Target date for implementation: [date or unknown]
   
   Research current options suitable for a UK shop. Use supplier documentation and other reputable sources, include a source link for every material claim, and state the date checked as 2026-08-13. Do not invent features, prices, integrations, user limits or UK compliance claims. Separate verified facts from assumptions and unknowns.
   
   Return:
   1. The five most relevant options, excluding products that fail a must-have requirement.
   2. A comparison table covering stock control, purchasing, barcode support, integrations, reporting, multi-location support, data export, onboarding, pricing structure and contract terms where verified.
   3. A weighted scoring model based on my requirements, showing the weights and evidence for each score.
   4. The risks and questions I should raise with each supplier.
   5. A practical test script using sample products, orders, returns and stock adjustments.
   6. A recommendation of the best fit, the strongest alternative and the conditions that would change the recommendation.
   7. A list of facts I must confirm in a demo or trial before buying.
   
   Do not treat a marketing claim as proof. Flag anything that needs confirmation from the supplier. Do not recommend a product solely because it is well known or inexpensive.

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.

3. Hand it to a person

   The distant third

   A person who owns the outcome does this end to end, worth it when the failure is dear.