Over the past few months I have been intentionally experimenting with different ways to incorporate AI into my daily life. Some of them are very helpful, others, not so much!
There is no question that AI tools like Gemini and ChatGPT can improve productivity and access to information, but it’s not exactly the “silver bullet” that we were promised.
As I reflect on the ways that AI is helping me, I have to admit that my opinion and perspective is shifting a bit.
10 ways AI is helping me get stuff done
Note: I use both Google Gemini and ChatGPT on a daily basis. I frequently use both of these AI engines for the same task to see which one is more effective. While I have premium access to both services, all of the examples below can be done with a free account.
1. Homework help – I have two high school students taking physics this year. It’s been a long time since I took physics, so I frequently turn to Gemini to remind me how to convert kg into newtons.
One thing that surprised me about using AI for homework is how much I learn through my conversation with Gemini. Not only does it Gemini show me the correct calculation, it explains each step, widening my understanding of the topic.
I have been forced to adjust my understanding of what it means to “cheat” with AI. If a student is honestly trying to learn, AI can act like a tutor, guiding you past roadblocks that might otherwise stop the learning process. If a student is lazy, using AI is no different from copying the right answer to the odd problems in the back of the book.
2. Turning a list of bullet points into a paragraph of descriptive text – I find writing with AI can be frustrating, but this is one strategy that works quite well.
3. Advanced spreadsheet formulas – I’m not a natural spreadsheet user, but AI has helped me generate complex formulas for several big projects. Like my interactions with physics problem, I am learning a lot about advanced formulas from these interactions.
Gemini helps me with advanced spreadsheet formulas!
4. Asking for a quick summary of a topic, person, or place – Some of the things I would normally look up with Google search have migrated to Gemini. It’s a nice, quick way to get some basic information without having to wade through a sea of blue links.
Tip: the next two examples require the use of the Gemini or ChatGPT app on your phone so that you can utilize your camera to snap a photo.
5. Adding up golf scores – I used the Gemini app to take a photo of my golf score card and asked Gemini to add up the scores. It was great! I should have asked it to subtract a few strokes as well!
6. Understanding my property tax assessment – I just got my 2025 property tax assessment and my taxes went up. I took a photo of the assessment summary and asked Gemini to analyze it and explain why there was an increase in my tax bill (inflation).
7. Generating images from a prompt – I typically will use 3-4 different tools to generate AI images: Canva, Ideaogram, Adobe Firefly, etc. Lately some of the best have been from Gemini and ChatGPT. These native AI applications are getting a lot better at image generation. If you haven’t tried it recently, give it another shot.
8. Book summary – Amazon suggested a book that looked interesting, so I asked Gemini to summarize it for me. The summary and follow-up questions helped me determine if I should invest my time to read this book.
9. Edit a PDF – Someone sent me a PDF that I needed to edit. I dropped it into Gemini and it was able to convert the read-only file into an editable Google Doc! The integration of Gemini with Docs, Gmail, and Calendar is a great advantage to using Gemini.
10. Generate a vivid description from an image – This seems like an obvious application, but I was quite pleased by the results! I gave Gemini several photos of a cabin and asked it to write a description for AirBnB. It worked great!
Give Gemini and image and ask it for a description!
Three things that AI hasn’t been able to do for me:
1. Identify fonts – I uploaded a screenshot from a website in hopes that I would be able to find out the font that was used. I got some generic results (serif font), but not the specific name of the font.
2. Data analysis – Gemini is much better with words than numbers. I still have trouble with data analysis tasks. ChatGPT does a much better job. Granted there are better tools for data analysis, but It would be nice if I could do some basic analysis with Gemini.
3. Longer written content – I’ve attempted to use Gemini and ChatGPT to write full length blog posts with mixed results. Eventually I do get something useful, but it takes a lot of drafting and re-writing. It also has a tendency to completely re-write anything that I ask it to improve which also eliminates my personal voice.
I’m not sure there is any time savings when I partner with AI on a longer piece of content (like this). This is especially true when writing about a brand new feature that AI might not be aware of yet.
I have more success asking AI to re-write something I have already written or asking AI to turn a bulleted list into a narrative format. Human input is essential for the generation of quality information. I don’t think AI will eliminate human writers anytime soon!
What are your AI wins?
What real-world applications for AI have you discovered? I’m confident that AI is here to stay and will have an impact on productivity, but I think the end result will be a little different than we anticipated.
I don’t think AI will take over the world or eliminate human effort and creativity. Based on my experience, success with AI requires knowledge and insight that is unique to the person behind the keyboard.
I took a photo of the assessment summary and asked Gemini to analyze it and explain why there was an increase in my tax bill (inflation). 
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