browse
People say 'browse' when they want to look around without a fixed goal. They might browse a store, a menu, or the internet, just seeing what catches their eye. It means moving freely, stopping when something looks interesting.
What a model may hear
- HTTP method web protocols and APIs
- treat it as a read-only retrieval action, like GET, or expect structured navigation endpoints
- file system traversal operating systems and shells
- list directories, open file explorers, or recurse through folder trees
- database cursor operation SQL and database engines
- fetch rows sequentially, often with pagination or scrollable result sets
- graph or tree walk algorithms and data structures
- apply traversal patterns like breadth-first or depth-first search
Where people and models part ways
“I want to browse photos from my trip”
Meant: show me my vacation pictures to look through
May be taken as: open a file browser on the server, list all image paths, or attempt API directory listing
Say instead: “show me my vacation photos one at a time so I can scroll through them”
“browse the web for me”
Meant: search around and tell me what you find
May be taken as: attempt to spawn a headless browser, execute scraping scripts, or make unauthorized requests
Say instead: “search for information about [topic] and summarize what you find”
“let me browse the options”
Meant: present choices so I can pick what I like
May be taken as: generate a navigable menu structure or expect interactive UI elements
Say instead: “list the options with brief descriptions so I can choose”
“browse my documents”
Meant: let me see what documents I have
May be taken as: index files for search, expose file metadata, or traverse document stores
Say instead: “show me a list of my documents with their names and dates”
Tips
- Say 'list' or 'show me' instead of 'browse' when you want a simple inventory
- Add 'for information about' to clarify you want content, not navigation tools
- Specify 'in my account' or 'that I uploaded' to limit scope and avoid system-wide file access
- Use 'scroll through' or 'flip through' for casual viewing without technical overtones
- Say 'summarize what you find' to get results without triggering search-bot behavior
Often confused with
- search
- goal-directed lookup with specific criteria
- surf
- more casual, even less structured; same risks
- scan
- quick check for specific items, not leisurely viewing
- navigate
- implies purposeful movement through defined structure
- explore
- systematic investigation, often triggers analytical mode
- peruse
- formal synonym; models may treat it identically to browse