10 everyday uses of AI that save you time

This page brings together 10 everyday uses of AI, each with a request ready to copy. Paste the request into the assistant of your choice, replace whatever is in square brackets with your own situation, then fine-tune the answer by carrying on the conversation. If you’re new to AI, start with our guide on how to use AI in everyday life.

How to use this library

• Copy the request, then replace the text in square brackets with the details of your situation.
• Adapt the requested format to your needs: number of suggestions, length or layout.
• Leave out names, numbers and addresses. The AI doesn’t need them.
• Check anything that matters at the source, such as a price, a date or a procedure.

At home

1. The week’s meals and shopping list

This use may appeal to Accelerators: a first request helps plan the week’s meals.

Suggest 5 simple dinners for the week, for [number] people, ready in under 30 minutes, without [ingredients to avoid]. Then make the shopping list with quantities, sorted by aisle.

To adapt it: add a budget, “one vegetarian dish” or “leftovers reused the next day”.

2. Cook with what’s left in the fridge

I’ve got [ingredients]. What can I make in [time]? Suggest 3 ideas, with the steps.

To adapt it: mention your equipment (“no oven”) or the family’s tastes.

3. Share out the household chores

Help me share out these chores fairly between [number] people over one week: [list of chores]. Show the result as a table by day.

To adapt it: say who is away and on which days, or who prefers which chore.

For your messages and paperwork

4. Summarise a long email or document

Summarise this text in 3 points and tell me whether there’s anything I need to do, and by when: [text].

To check: reread any passages that contain a date, an amount or a commitment.

5. Write a tricky message

Help me write a [polite but firm / warm] message to [recipient] to [goal]. Suggest 3 short versions.

To adapt it: paste your draft and ask it to “keep what I’m saying, improve how I say it”.

6. Understand an official letter

Explain this letter in plain words: what am I being asked to do, by when, and what happens if I do nothing? [text of the letter, without personal numbers]

To check: for an important decision, confirm with the organisation concerned.

7. Prepare for some admin

I need to [task, for example move house or renew a document]. Give me a checklist of the steps and the documents to gather, in order.

To check: rules change, so compare with the organisation’s official list.

For your free time and projects

8. Plan a trip or a weekend away

Pioneers tend to love this one.

Suggest a [length] trip to [destination] for [number of people], with these interests: [interests]. Total budget: [amount]. Getting around without a car. Suggest two versions: an active one and a relaxed one.

To check: times, prices and opening days, on official websites.

9. Learn something new

I want to improve in this area: [subject]. I can spend [time] a day on it. My level: [level]. Ask me five questions, one at a time, then suggest corrections with explanations.

To adapt it: ask for a revision quiz at the end of the week.

10. Find a gift or outing idea

Find 5 gift ideas under [budget] for [person], who loves [interests]. For each one, say in one sentence why they’d like it.

To adapt it: add what the person already has, to avoid duplicates.

Which uses should you pick first?

Ten uses is a lot. Pick one or two that match a task you do every week, and stick with them. The time you save comes from repeating them.

Not everyone will pick the same ones. An Accelerator will start with meal plans and summaries, which come round every week. A Pioneer will go for trips and outing ideas first. A Guardian will have important letters proofread, and an Observer will rephrase a tricky message. To find out which ones suit you, take the test. It has 21 questions, takes about 3 minutes and needs no account. To write your own requests, follow our method for writing a good prompt.