Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.
ZDNET’s key takeaways
- Free ChatGPT can surface working coupon codes, but it’s hit or miss.
- Agent on ChatGPT Plus might improve your odds of finding valid deals.
- Coupon or promo codes can lead to easy savings online.
It’s Friday afternoon, and I’m wrapping up work. I’ve got my daughter’s 4-year checkup with shots later, which means one thing: pizza night. That should put a smile on her face after our appointment.
But before placing an order with Pizza Hut, I’m wondering if there are any coupons. I’ve gotten into the habit of asking free ChatGPT for coupon codes or promo codes whenever I’m shopping online. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But it only takes a few seconds, so why not try? Over the past year, I’ve saved quite a bit this way.
Also: I did 24 days of coding in 12 hours with a $20 AI tool – but there’s one big pitfall
Once, I even scored 50% off a Roborock vacuum just by asking ChatGPT to find me a code. It doesn’t always work. I’ve been given expired or invalid codes plenty of times.
My usual method is to include the date when I ask ChatGPT for codes. This seems to improve the odds of finding something good. Lately, though, I’ve noticed people talking about Agent, a feature available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers that might be better at actively searching the web and pulling in working codes.
Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
Putting free ChatGPT and Agent to the test
With my Pizza Hut order loaded in the app, I switched over to free ChatGPT to look for promo codes before checking out. I used the following prompt: “Find me Pizza Hut coupon code for Friday September 12 2025 that will save me money.”
Also: Is ChatGPT Plus still worth $20 when the free version offers so much – including GPT-5?
ChatGPT served up a list of codes. Promising, right? Well, sort of. When I plugged them into the Pizza Hut app, they applied at first but then came back with a message: not honored at this store. So technically it worked, but not in a way that saved me money.
Next, I logged into my ChatGPT Plus account and tried Agent. This time, I got two codes back. The first one — “OKC25” — worked perfectly. Twenty-five percent off my order. Nice.
Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
Why I’ll keep using Agent to find codes
Listen, if you’re on free ChatGPT, it’s still worth asking or trying. You might strike out, but when it works, it can save you. If you’re a Plus subscriber with access to Agent, why not switch over to Agent if a regular query in ChatGPT doesn’t work? You get 40 messages per month with Agent, but that should be plenty.
Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNET
In my case, after a tough doctor’s visit for my daughter, saving 25% on Pizza Hut feels like a small win — and exactly the kind of Friday night reward we both need.
