Browser tasks

Brea has its own web browser. On the websites you name, it can read, search, sign in, fill in and send forms, send messages, post, change settings, 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 for your approval first. The request starts with “Use” and the website, and shows the task. Reply ALLOW, ALWAYS, or DENY. See Approvals.
3. Brea replies “Working. I’ll send the result when I’m done, or let you know if I need anything else.”
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.

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.

Verification codes

When a site sends you a sign-in code by text or email, 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”. Brea enters it and goes on with the task. The code doesn’t stay in your chat history. It shows as dots.

• 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, up to 3 times in one task.

Downloads

Brea can download PDFs, CSV files, spreadsheets, and ZIP files from a site, up to 20 MB each. 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.

Limits

• A task can use up to 5 websites. Brea stays on those websites. If a site sends the browser somewhere else, Brea stops.
• Brea runs one browser task at a time. Other tasks wait their turn.
• A task can work for up to 30 minutes. Waiting for a code or a login doesn’t count, but a task ends after 45 minutes in total.
• Brea can’t upload files to a website.
• Brea can’t follow a site that opens a new tab.
• Some parts of a page can’t be used, like drawings on a canvas or content inside a frame from another site.
• 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.