Browser tasks

Brea has its own web browser. On websites, it can read, search, sign in, fill in and send forms, send messages, post, change settings, upload files, and download files.

How a browser task works

1. Tell Brea what to do. Name the website if you know it, like “On americanexpress.com, download my August statement.”
2. If the task changes something, like sending a message or changing a setting, Brea asks you first. It says what it wants to do and asks a yes-or-no question. Answer in your own words, like “yes” or “no”. See Approvals.
3. Brea tells you it’s on it.
4. The result arrives as a new message. You can keep texting Brea about other things while you wait.

A task that only reads, like checking an order status or downloading a statement, usually runs without asking you. When Brea tries again or continues a task you already approved, it doesn’t ask again.

Signing in

Brea’s browser keeps you signed in between tasks, the same as your own browser does. When a site asks whether to remember the device, Brea says yes. So after the first time, many sites don’t ask you to sign in again.

When a site needs your username and password, Brea texts you a link to save them. Open the link, enter the login, and Brea goes on with the task. Never send a password in a text. See Saved logins.

If you don’t have a password for the site, for example because you sign in with Google or with a code, reply and say so. Brea takes your reply as the answer and goes on.

Verification codes

When a site asks for a sign-in code, Brea texts you a message like “example.com needs a verification code. Reply here with the code, or say cancel.”

Reply with the code, like “482913”. You can also write it in your own words, like “the code is 482913”. Brea replies “Code received.” and goes on with the task. The code doesn’t stay in your chat history. It shows as dots.

The code can come by text, by email, or from an authenticator app.

• Brea waits up to 5 minutes for the code. After that, ask Brea to try the task again.
• Reply “cancel”, “stop”, or “never mind” to end the task.
• If the site rejects the code, Brea can ask for a new one. It can ask for a code up to 6 times in one task.

Approve on your phone

Some sites ask you to approve the sign-in somewhere else, like a notification from your bank’s app or a link in an email. Brea texts you to ask. Approve it, then tell Brea, like “done”. Brea watches the site for up to 3 minutes until it moves on. If it doesn’t, Brea tells you what the site shows and asks what to do before it sends a new request.

Sign-in links by email

Some sites email you a sign-in link instead of a code. Don’t tap the link: that signs in your own phone, not Brea’s browser. Instead, press and hold the link in the newest email, copy it, and paste it in your reply to Brea.

Questions during a task

If the browser needs something only you know, like a missing detail, a choice between options, or whether you already have an account, Brea texts you the question. Reply in your own words. The task waits for your answer until it runs out of time.

You can ask Brea for other things while a task waits. A new task doesn’t stop the one that is waiting. To stop a task, tell Brea, like “Stop the Amex task.”

Create a new account

Brea can sign you up for an account on a website, like “Sign me up for an account on example.com”. Brea doesn’t create accounts unless you ask.

Before the browser opens, Brea texts you a link to choose the new account’s password. The link preview says “Add password to Brea Vault”.

1. Open the link. If you’re asked, sign in to your Brea account.
2. Enter the Email or username for the new account.
3. Enter a New password, and enter it again in Confirm password.
4. Click Save password.

The page says “Saved for” and the site name. Brea then creates the account. Brea’s AI never sees the password. You use it to sign in to the account yourself.

The link works once and expires after 30 minutes. If you already have an account on the site, or you sign in with Google, reply and say so instead.

The login is saved in Secrets vault like any other. See Saved logins.

Uploads

Brea can upload files to a website for you, like a photo you sent, a file Brea made, or an attachment from a connected app. A task can upload up to 5 files. Each file can be up to 10 MB, and all of them together up to 20 MB.

Downloads

Brea can download files from a site, up to 20 MB each. This includes PDF, CSV, Excel, Word, and ZIP files, and images. It can read them, total the numbers in them, and send them to you.

For statements, a CSV or spreadsheet download works best when you want totals. Ask for the PDF when you want the statement itself.

Brea can also send you screenshots of the pages it used.

Limits

• A task can name up to 10 websites. Outside of purchases, the browser can follow a site to the other sites it needs, like a sign-in page or a partner site. A purchase stays on the seller’s site. See Purchases with Link.
• A task ends 4 hours after it starts. Time spent waiting for you, like for a code or a login, counts too. If a task runs out of time, Brea sends what it found so far and can start again from there.
• Brea can work on more than one browser task at a time.
• When a site opens a new tab, Brea’s browser follows it.
• Some parts of a page may not work.
• Brea’s browser can get past many “Are you human?” checks, but not all of them.
• The browser connects from the United States, so sites show their US version.
• Brea never pays with a card or balance saved on a site. To buy something, see Purchases with Link.

If a task fails

Brea tells you why the task stopped. See A browser task failed.