How are designers finding UI references these days?

I used to spend a lot of time exploring apps and websites when looking for design references. I'd also browse Pinterest or Mobbin to see how other products handled similar screens and interactions.

I still do that, but lately I've been wondering if there are better ways to find references.

I've tried asking LLMs to find examples based on what I'm working on. The results are usually relevant on the surface, but rarely quite what I'm looking for.

Sometimes I get the same familiar products, or examples that look similar but don't really solve the same problem.

So I often end up going back to browsing actual products myself.

Has anyone found an AI tool or a different workflow that actually works better than browsing references manually?