Using AI
The things people do with AI on a normal day: summarising a long text, fixing an email, comparing scattered information, generating an image. There is a less cheerful side here too: studying without cheating, spotting a fake photo or message, and getting unstuck when the assistant stalls or claims it cannot see the file you just gave it. Every guide starts from a real question and ends with a result, assuming no prior knowledge.
In everyday life 86
- Quick answerGenerate stories for children with AI: describe protagonist, age and moral and ask for a story in short chapters. Then iterate until it convinces.
- How to create a personalized workout plan with AICreate a personalized workout plan with AI: give age, weight, goal, days and equipment and get a weekly plan.
- How do I come up with ideas for DIY projects and decorations using AI?DIY ideas and decorations with AI: upload the photo to Gemini to see the before/after and use ChatGPT for materials, measurements and assembly steps.
- How to write a dating profile descriptionWrite a dating profile description with AI: fill in your real data and ask for 5 versions. Cut the cliches, add a specific detail.
- How to write personal poems and creative texts with AIWrite personal poems and creative texts with AI: describe person, feeling and occasion with real details, and fix forced rhymes and cliches.
Ready-made prompts 31
- Prompts for translating while keeping tone and styleReady-made prompts for translating with AI while keeping tone and style: register preserved, cultural adaptation, idioms and quality control.
- Ready-made prompts to manage projects, deadlines, and your side projectsReady-made prompts to break projects into phases, carry on a side project in spare moments, and pick up a stalled job without getting discouraged.
- Prompts for correcting and improving textsReady-made prompts for correcting and improving texts with AI: typos only with no rewrites, trimming, tone change and a critique that teaches you.
- Prompts for to-do lists, action plans, and goalsReady-made prompts for to-do lists, action plans, and goals with AI: break a target into first steps, order your priorities, and track progress.
- Ready-made prompts to study, learn and memorize with AIReady-made prompts to study with AI: get quizzed, explain with the Feynman method, create quizzes, flashcards and spaced review plans.
Tips and tricks 30
- How to use delimiters for clearer promptsHow to use delimiters for clearer prompts: separate instructions and material with triple quotes or labels, so the AI doesn't confuse them.
- How to extract only the useful information from a long textHow to extract only the useful info from a long text with AI: ready-made prompts, table form, spot check and working in blocks.
- How to maintain quality in very long conversationsHow to maintain quality in very long AI chats: a periodic summary, restart in a new chat, keep the fixed points in a document of your own.
- How to reduce vagueness and repetition in responsesHow to reduce vagueness and repetition in AI responses: context and constraints going in, a trimming pass of the filler coming out.
- How to have AI generate and explain regexesHow to have AI generate and explain regexes: declare the language, give positive and negative examples, test before trusting.
AI away from your desk 24
- How to turn your smartphone into a complete AI assistantTurn your smartphone into a complete AI assistant: set it as the default assistant and use it by voice to dictate, read photos and reason.
- How to do voice-command searches while you walkDo searches by voice while you walk: which AI assistant to choose, how to use it with earbuds and what to do when it mishears.
- How to turn dead time into content (posts created on the go)Checkout line or train: dictate the idea to the AI and it turns it into a ready-made post. So dead time becomes content, without draining you of ideas.
- How to save battery and data using AI appsAI apps drain battery and data with voice, camera and photos on mobile: here are the settings to change to use them daily without draining your phone.
- How to use AI that runs only on the device (privacy on the go)AI that runs only on your phone keeps your data offline. Here's how to use it for confidential notes and the airplane-mode test that doesn't lie.
Images, audio and video 20
- How to create a portrait or an avatar from your own photoUpload your photo and choose a style: the AI rebuilds your features in the look you want. Start from a frontal, well-lit photo with a clean background.
- How to improve and restore old or grainy photosYou upload the old photo and the AI repairs scratches, recovers sharpness, and colorizes black and white. For badly damaged photos, proceed in stages.
- How to remove the background from a photoUpload the photo into a background-removal tool and get the subject cut out in a few seconds. For difficult edges you need edge refinement.
- How to edit a photo (background, elements) realisticallyDescribe the edit or select the area and the AI blends it with the rest. The realism depends on the consistency of light, perspective and shadows.
- How to create automatic subtitles for a videoCreate automatic subtitles for a video with AI: use YouTube Studio or CapCut, fix the errors and sync the lines with the speech.
When something goes wrong 18
- I've reached the message limit: what can I doMessage limit reached? Wait for the rolling recharge, use the reduced model, or move the work to another free AI.
- I've lost an important conversation with the AI: how do I recover itLost an important AI chat? Search among the archived ones, then request the data export right away: the step-by-step guide to recover it.
- The AI answers strangely or confusedly: how to get it back on trackThe AI answers confusedly or contradicts itself? Often the chat is clogged: start over from a new conversation with a clean summary.
- The AI won't read my PDF or Word: how to fix itThe AI won't read your PDF or Word? Almost always it's a scan: here's how to recognize it, convert it to text and get it really read.
- The AI replies in English even though I write in ItalianThe AI replies in English even though you write in Italian? Tell it explicitly and anticipate the language when you paste foreign texts. The fixes that work.
- How to continue the conversation after the limit without losing the threadAfter the limit, don't lose the thread: have an operational summary given to you before the block, save it and paste it when you resume or change AI.
- The file is too big for the AI: the alternativesFile too big for the AI? Split it into parts, compress it, or paste only the section you need. Often a chapter is enough, not the whole thing.
- Why the AI forgets things said just before in the same chatThe AI forgets things said just before? Its memory is like a desk with an edge: the old sheets fall off. Here's why and what to do.
- How to save and export your AI chats before losing themSave your AI chats before losing them: official data export, manual copy and backup in your own document. The step-by-step guide.
- Damaged or unsupported file: what to doFile damaged or unsupported by the AI? Distinguish the two cases: the format gets converted, the broken file gets recovered from a healthy copy.
- The AI app won't load or isn't working: quick fixesBlank screen or endless loading? Try incognito, clear the cache and check the service status: the quick fixes that actually work.
- The AI doesn't see the file you just uploaded: how to fix itThe AI ignores the file you just uploaded? Often you sent the question before the upload finished. Wait for the fixed box and join them.
- Error uploading images or PDFs: causes and remediesError uploading images or PDFs to the AI? Three causes: file too large, browser blocking, invalid format. The remedies in order.
- Why the AI says it can't access my fileThe AI says it can't access your file? Almost always it didn't arrive: check the attachment preview, the permissions, and the protection.
- The answer cuts off halfway: how to get it completedThe AI's answer stops halfway? Write continue. If it restarts confused, paste the last words and tell it to resume exactly from there.
- How to get the AI to reread a file it hadn't understoodThe AI misunderstood a file? Don't repeat the question: tell it where to look, what you want and have it quote the exact sentence it answers from.
- How to resume a chat after closing the app or browserClosed the app or browser? The chat is still on your account: here's how to find it again in the sidebar and get the AI to pick up the thread.
- The AI is slow or unresponsive: causes and remediesThe AI is slow or freezing? Often it's the too-long chat or servers at peak. Open a new chat with a recap and get fast again: here's how.
Safety and scams 13
- How to defend yourself against scams using cloned voices over the phoneScam using a relative's voice to ask for money? Hang up and call the real number, use a safe word. The complete guide.
- How to defend yourself against deepfakes in videos and callsDeepfakes in videos and calls: don't unmask them by eye, verify through a second channel. The rule that blocks even corporate fraud.
- How to tell whether a text was written by AITell whether a text was written by AI: detectors err, stylistic clues and comparison are what count. Here's how to judge them properly.
- How to check whether a voice is real or generatedA voice on the phone can be cloned by AI. Don't trust your ear: hang up, call back and use a safe word.
- How to recognize scams that use AIAI scams no longer have grammar errors. Recognize them by their structure: urgency, a request for money or data, non-reversible payments.
- How to protect your own face and voiceFace and voice are clonable biometric data. Reduce public material, use a safe word and don't open logins with biometrics alone.
- How to limit the use of your photos by AILimit the use of your photos by AI: opt-out options, fewer public images and free masking tools. Here's how.
- How to protect your children's photos from AI useProtecting your children's photos from AI: private profiles, no identifiable data, less frontal face. The habits that reduce the risk.
- How to find out if someone is using my image with AIIs someone using your image with AI? Find out with reverse image search and recognition engines, then ask for removal.
- How to recognize AI-generated photos and videosAI photos and videos look real? Visual clues are no longer enough: learn to verify provenance, the defense that holds over time.
- How to recognize fake news created with AIFake news created with AI: realistic photos and made-up quotes. Verify the source and look for independent confirmation before believing it.
- How to recognize scam emails and messages generated with AIScam emails and messages generated with AI are very well written. Don't click links: check the sender, the real address and log in via the official channel.
- What to do if you're the victim of an AI-based scamVictim of an AI scam? Act immediately: block the money at the bank, change passwords, preserve the evidence and report it. The emergency guide.
School, university and study 9
- How to create concept maps and diagrams with AICreate concept maps and diagrams from your notes with AI: the Mermaid method and the ready-to-use generators, with a copyable prompt.
- How to review before an exam or a testReviewing before an exam with active recall: turning the material into a quiz with AI and spreading the repetitions over the weak points.
- When using AI to study counts as cheatingWhen is using AI to study cheating? The line: if the AI does the work that was yours and you hand it in as yours. And the course rule always wins.
- How to study with AI honestly and productivelyStudying with AI honestly: use it as a tutor that explains and quizzes, not as a ghostwriter. The right prompts and the line not to cross.
- How to improve your study method with AIImprove your study method with AI: have it quiz you instead of rereading, tailored explanations and a realistic plan you actually follow.
- How to summarize handouts and notes without losing the meaningSummarizing handouts and notes with AI without distorting the meaning: the right tool, the by-concepts prompt and checking the citations.
- How to do research for a paper or a projectDoing research for a paper with AI: break down the question, analyze the sources you find yourself and verify every citation before using it.
- How to prepare for an oral exam: having AI quiz youSimulate the oral exam by having AI quiz you: the role to assign, the follow-up questions and how to get corrected out loud.
- How to write a paper with AI as support (not as a substitute)Writing a paper with AI as support and not as a substitute: using it for structure, critique and revision while keeping the text and reasoning yours.