The AI set up his backups and proved them with a test restore
Used the AI to configure Kopia backups to a Hetzner storage box, then tested a restore to his desktop and validated it works.
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Level up how you use AI
Real things everyday people got it to do, and how to try them yourself.
A random mix from the whole library. Shuffle for a new set.
An AI agent renewed my car registration for me
He is beta testing an AI agent, and it renewed his car registration for him. He says how much time it saved is debatable, but the renewal got done.
AI designed and routed about 15 of his circuit boards, with known mistakes in the pile
AI through tscircuit and OpenAI models designed and autorouted about 15 ordered RP2040 and ESP32 PCB designs; known mistakes include improperly rotated connectors and routing loops.
This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
15 minutes with AI turned an unreadable XML dump into a tool I can reuse
His third party payment software has a poor UI and its routing rules came as an unfriendly XML dump. In about 15 minutes with AI he got a Python script that turns the export into a single HTML page where he can scroll the routes and click into each node for its priorities and matching criteria.
'Kai' built a 7-day family meal plan for 3 on a $50
Corina Noriega (130K; busy mom, nutrition coach, trainer) used her agent 'Kai' (a cartoon dog) to build a 7-day family meal plan for three on a $50 grocery budget, starting from fridge/freezer items (chicken tenders, beef) plus her training schedule and macro goals. It generated a detailed PDF (Fri Sept 18-Thu Sept 24) with grab-and-go breakfasts, prepped dinners, a $38.43 shopping list, training windows, and daily 7:30 AM reminders.
$50
Negotiated a Tour AD MT-6 golf driver shaft from $160 down to
In a '3 things you didn't know you can do with AI' walkthrough, screen recordings show the AI searching Facebook Marketplace for a golf driver shaft, messaging the seller, and negotiating a Tour AD MT-6 from $160 down to $130.
$160
His AI setup routes tasks from chat and tickets to the right repos and opens the PRs
Cyrus and the AI system routes Telegram and Linear tasks to repos by label and opens PRs for review; he is more hands off across multiple projects.
Free the AI designed a replacement coat hanger joint he printed in 10 minutes
Free the AI produced an OpenSCAD file he converted to STL and 3D printed a replacement coat hanger joint in 10 minutes, part now in use.
Keep my launch video moving across Work, the AI and chat without me sequencing it
In Futurepedia's early-access test, the Dot coordinated a Dots launch video: it requested three intro versions in an AI app, selected one, sent it to an AI motion-graphics skill and started a thumbnail in another chat. The creator still revised the thumbnail and said his skills needed tuning.
This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
Has the AI responding to his emails and running tasks autonomously on its
In the same test, he connected Gmail, Google Sheets, and Google Drive; the AI responded to his emails and performed tasks autonomously on its own server even while his laptop was turned off.
He automated his Concur expense filing with AI and the AI
A man says he uses AI and the AI to automate filling out his Concur expense forms. The filing manages payment for the AI and the AI itself.
Coordinated wedding logistics: emailed a photographer about Perona Farms timing, cleared sales
Gannon Meyer (210K followers) named his AI 'Oscar' (dachshund avatar) to survive 'one of the most chaotic but manageable periods of his life.' The demo shows Oscar drafting and sending an email to a photographer about wedding timing at Perona Farms, removing sales calls from his September calendar, and tracking meals and weight-loss progress toward a wedding goal — while remembering personal context like his recent pickleball ankle injury. Oscar proposes actions but executes only after a
Scanned invoices in Drive get reconciled for billing errors and missing credits
His business scans every invoice into a Google Drive folder. The AI reconciles them there: checking they were billed correctly, that credits for returned goods actually arrived, and that there is no slippage. He says it is far faster than reconciling by hand.
I had the AI build the screen printing software I actually wanted
He used AI to build software for color separation, halftoning and layer editing for his screen prints. It is built around his own way of working, and he says it has made him a better artist.
Three blogs run by an agent stalled for three rounds on an AI review gate
A Korean content operation handed three channels (Naver blog, Threads, WordPress) to an AI agent publishing at 9:00, 13:00 and 17:00 daily, logged over Oct 15-18, 2026. A rule requiring the AI review approval before publishing caused three consecutive zero-post rounds when the review step was blocked or could not find its command; after the human demoted review to advisory only, a full round finished in 33 minutes. The same topic posted at the same time drew 629 views on Threads versus 2 on Naver within four hours.
This only partly worked. Worth knowing before you try it.
I built my mechanic friend a car diagnostic app that talks to the AI
His friend keeps his kids cars running and refuses payment, so he found a way to pay him back. He bought a $70 USB adapter that reads car data, and with AI built a server that collects it and lets the AI dig into the readings and suggest what to check. He has tested it on his own 2024 Honda and his friends 2003 GMC truck.
Plumbing firm's voice agent books 600+ jobs from calls that used to go unanswered
Brothers Plumbing, Heating & Electric was losing work to missed calls: abandon rates neared 30 percent and callbacks took over 10 hours. ServiceTitan's AI Virtual Agent now answers in seconds and books jobs around the company's real capacity, service zones, technician skill sets and job types; the abandon rate fell to 5 percent, more than 600 jobs have been booked by the agent, and the company attributes $1.33 million in revenue to it.
$1,330,000
The AI helped me move my music server to version 2.0.12
He runs a Funkwhale music server on a virtual machine. Using his own notes, the official docs and the AI, he moved it from version 1.4 to 2.0.12, said it went very smoothly, and wrote up how he did it.
My news site now uses Jev to pick stories and the bill stayed flat
He runs Qood News. When the AI 2.5 was retired, moving to the AI 3.1 would have tripled his AI bill, so a decision model called Jev now decides what counts as good news and costs stay about the same. In testing Jev approved 39 of 110 stories while the AI approved 53, mostly dropping filler.
The AI analyzed my whole genome in 30 minutes for about $5
A Stanford doctor gave the AI his own genome file and a 180 word prompt based on the framework his team published in 2009. In about 30 minutes for about $5, the AI matched the main findings of that team’s work, flagged genes that affect how he responds to some medicines, and warned that his file did not have enough data for disease risk scores.
Every idea is a real post from someone who tried it, summarized in our words, with a link to the original. App names are swapped for plain words.