How AI Agents Compare Personal Loan Rates

1. GATHER USER CONTEXT
   - Loan purpose (debt consolidation, purchase, emergency)
   - Desired amount and acceptable monthly payment
   - Credit score range (if known)
   - Timeline urgency
   - Existing debt details (for consolidation)

2. QUERY RATEAPI
   POST /v1/decisions with product_type=personal_loan, state, amount

3. CALCULATE TRUE COST FOR EACH OFFER
   For each rate:
     monthly_payment = PMT(apr/12, term_months, principal)
     total_cost = monthly_payment * term_months
     total_interest = total_cost - principal

4. OPTIMIZE TERM LENGTH
   - Start with user's max affordable payment
   - Find shortest term that fits budget
   - Calculate savings vs longer terms
   - Present tradeoff: payment vs total cost

5. COMPARE TO ALTERNATIVES
   - If debt consolidation: compare to existing debt costs
   - If purchase: compare to 0% financing if available
   - If emergency: note faster funding options

6. RECOMMEND WITH RATIONALE
   - Lowest total cost within budget
   - Note credit union advantage
   - Flag any origination fees

function analyzeConsolidation(existingDebts, personalLoanOffer) {
  // Calculate cost of existing debts
  let existingTotalInterest = 0;
  for (const debt of existingDebts) {
    const monthsToPayoff = calculatePayoffMonths(debt.balance, debt.apr, debt.minPayment);
    existingTotalInterest += (debt.minPayment * monthsToPayoff) - debt.balance;
  }

  // Calculate cost of consolidation loan
  const totalBalance = existingDebts.reduce((sum, d) => sum + d.balance, 0);
  const loanPayment = PMT(personalLoanOffer.apr/12, personalLoanOffer.term, totalBalance);
  const loanTotalInterest = (loanPayment * personalLoanOffer.term) - totalBalance;

  return {
    existingCost: existingTotalInterest,
    consolidationCost: loanTotalInterest,
    savings: existingTotalInterest - loanTotalInterest,
    recommendConsolidation: loanTotalInterest < existingTotalInterest
  };
}