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.
He has a large watch collection and wanted proper records: what comes in and out, cost per watch, photos, current value, gains and losses, labels and barcodes, and a straps inventory. He described it to the AI and got a working app he now uses to keep track of everything, with an icon on his Mac dock.
Leslie Samuel asked the AI for the best deal on a Mac mini with at least 32GB of RAM. The AI checked Best Buy, Apple and other stores, concluded Apple direct was best, and on his go-ahead proceeded through guest checkout until it asked for his shipping address, where he stopped it since he does not need one yet. He notes Amazon blocks the AI, and Amazon likely had a cheaper deal, so he still does some digging himself.
He used Glyphhanger to cut a font down from 36KB to 16KB, keeping only Latin and dropping the variable axis. Then he let the AI try, and it redrew the glyphs and got the font down to 6KB.
He likes Goodreads but people without an account cannot see his books there. He told the AI about it, and the AI created a WordPress plugin and made a books page on his own site, thatsportsgamer.com/books/, that shows his books using the Goodreads RSS feed.
Ethan Mollick writes that the AI noticed an airline credit of his was about to expire and, when he asked, contacted American Airlines to request an extension — an example of agents catching deadlines their owners miss.
He uses AI to check his email hourly, mostly overnight, handling customer mail and marketer pitches while it does not act during the day. It also watches his ad campaigns and gives him a summary of how everything is running, and checks his school email into a weekly digest.
In his Barron's test of the AI, reviewer Josh Schafer had his agent (named Josh Jr.) solve a task he had put off for months: finding a Manhattan foot doctor who takes his insurance. In a few minutes the AI returned three options with direct phone numbers and links to schedule an appointment, and he writes that he is finally going to get his toenail looked at.
Yair Savlevi asked the AI to watch a booked United fare and get a credit if the price dropped. The AI secured $1,000 in credit.
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.
The AI makes his listings for eBay and Facebook Marketplace and researches what similar items sold for. He approves the price before anything goes live and sends the photos himself, which he says keeps the listings honest.
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.