Real-Life Ways to Use AI: Everyday Examples & Prompts

Real-Life Ways to Use AI: Everyday Examples & Prompts

AI is a practical tool that can be used to simplify many aspects of daily life. The following are real-life examples and prompts for leveraging AI.

*Using AI can be a great way to save time and energy, but it's important to remember that it's a tool, and like any tool, it has limitations. Always use your own judgment and verify important information. AI can sometimes "hallucinate" and provide incorrect or misleading information. For medical advice, legal matters, or other critical decisions, always consult with a qualified professional.

👩‍👧 Family Health

• Parenting Support for Child Behavior Challenges

  • Example: Use AI to navigate behavior challenges by describing a specific situation and getting developmentally appropriate strategies in return. It can also help you reframe the behavior to better understand the underlying needs. You can also request strategies from specific parenting specialists or request resources such as books or podcasts.

  • Prompt: "My 3-year-old is having a lot of tantrums lately when it's time to leave the park or stop an activity she enjoys. How can I help make transitions smoother without giving in to every demand?"

• Checking If My Child’s Diet Is Adequate

  • Example: Assess if a child’s meals throughout the day are nutritionally balanced by logging what they ate and having AI help you understand if they are getting enough protein, fiber, healthy fats, and other key nutrients. It is useful for spotting gaps, like too much added sugar or not enough iron.

  • Prompt: "Here’s what my child ate today: breakfast was whole-grain toast with peanut butter and banana, lunch was macaroni and cheese with peas, and snacks were crackers, a yogurt pouch, and some grapes. Can you help me analyze if this is balanced for a 4-year-old?"

🍽 Meal Planning & Nutrition

• Cooking & Meal Prep

  • Example: AI can act as a kitchen assistant, helping with freshness checks, giving step-by-step help, and providing ingredient-based ideas. It can also help with recipe health swaps and weekly meal planning. You can also let it know what kitchen appliances you have and it will help create meals utilizing what you have.

  • Prompts:

    • "I have a [vegetable/ingredient] that’s [describe condition]. How can I tell if it’s still fresh or safe to eat?"

    • "Can you help me cook this recipe step-by-step and tell me how to time the cooking of everything together?"

    • "Here’s what I have in my kitchen: [list ingredients]. What meals could I make with these?"

    • "Can you make this recipe healthier by lowering calories or sugar, but still keeping it tasty?"

    • "Can you help me create a simple meal plan for the week that supports weight loss and doesn’t take too long to prep?"

• Targeted Meal Planning for Kids

  • Example: Create a full weekly meal plan for children, specifically pulling from recipes on your favorite websites and ensuring the plan adheres to any dietary restrictions or health goals. You can also let it know you will be shopping at certain stores.

  • Prompt: "I need a seven-day meal plan for my two children, ages 5 and 8. The meals should be dairy-free and focus on recipes from [Website 1] and [Website 2]. Please make sure there are at least two servings of vegetables with each dinner and that the plan includes a variety of protein sources. All items to be avalible at my local farmers market, costco, or foodland.

• Smarter Shopping

  • Example: Create a family meal plan (above) and generate a shopping list for your local grocery stores. You can also prioritize certain items from specific stores and have the list organized by aisle for easy shopping.

  • Prompt: "I need a shopping list for a week of family dinners from Costco, Foodland and local farmers markets. Please create a list for each store. I want all my produce from farmers markets, meat from costco, and for the grocery list, please organize it by aisle, starting with produce, then dairy, and so on."

  • Prompt: "Create a full weekly meal plan for my family, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner, along with a corresponding shopping list."

• Healthy Snack Alternatives

  • Example: Replace high-calorie snacks with lower-calorie options that are still satisfying.

  • Prompt: "What’s a sweet, low-calorie snack I can enjoy with my morning coffee that still feels like a treat?"

• Recipe Swaps & Cooking Ideas

  • Example: Get healthier versions of baked goods or quick meals that align with your dietary goals.

  • Prompt: "Can you give me a healthier version of [recipe], or a quick meal I can make with what I have?"

🧠 Health & Wellness

• Weight Loss Support

  • Example: You can create a custom weight loss plan that tracks calories, sets high-protein goals, and targets fat loss.

  • Prompt: "Help me create a weight loss plan that focuses on specific areas. I want to track calories and increase protein."

• Injury Recovery Planning

  • Example: Create a step-by-step plan for recovery after an injury, including movement modifications and healing tips.

  • Prompt: "I recently had an injury. Can you help me build a recovery plan with safe activities and ways to support healing?"

• Comparing Medical Procedures & Making Health Decisions

  • Example: Weigh the pros and cons of different treatments or procedures.

  • Prompt: "Can you help me compare medical procedures and summarize the benefits, risks, and recovery times for each?"

• Supplement Research & Effectiveness

  • Example: Review scientific evidence behind supplements to determine which ones are effective and worth taking.

  • Prompt: "Can you summarize the research on whether [supplement name] is effective and worth taking?"

🧬 Lifestyle Optimization

• Values-Aligned Brands

  • Example: Choose companies that support DEI, avoid political donations, and are U.S.-based.

  • Prompt: "Can you suggest U.S.-based companies that support DEI and don’t get involved in politics?"

🏠 Home & Daily Life

• Home Projects (e.g., Painting)

  • Example: Plan a home painting project by getting suggestions for supplies, color options, and prep steps.

  • Prompt: "Can you help me plan a home painting project, including color suggestions and what supplies I need?"

✅ Decision Support

Product Review Analysis

• Example: Analyze customer reviews to find common themes, pros, and cons, and then summarize them in a chart to help you make a buying decision.

• Prompt: "Can you analyze customer reviews for [product] and summarize the key pros, cons, and any recurring themes into a simple chart?"

Product & Food Comparisons

• Example: Compare foods, supplements, or brands to make healthier or smarter choices.

• Prompt: "Can you compare two versions of this product and tell me which is healthier or more cost-effective?"

The key to getting good at using AI is to master the art of prompting.

By providing clear, specific instructions, you can transform the AI from a simple search engine into a powerful tool that can help you with complex tasks, from planning a family vacation to analyzing data. AI can not only give you a list of pros and cons, but it can also take that information and analyze it for you, even creating charts to help you visualize different data sets to make a decision. The more detailed your prompts are, the more useful the output will be.

Prompt: Help generate an image to use with a blog post about AI uses.