Some weeks, AI is best used for big, ambitious projects. This week is not one of those. We’re going very practical: **planning a road trip using AI** and **writing a complaint letter that actually gets results**. These are the kinds of small, real-life moments where AI can save you hours, a few hundred dollars, and quite a bit of mental energy - without requiring you to “be good with technology.”

Try at least one before Sunday. That is the whole assignment.

Use Case 1 of 2

Use Case 1: Planning a road trip using AI

On Wednesday evening at 7:30pm, Maria, 56, is sitting at her kitchen table in Columbus, Ohio with a yellow legal pad, a half-finished cup of tea, and three browser tabs open. Her brother in Denver has invited her out for a week in September, and she’s decided to drive instead of fly so she can stop and see a couple of places she’s always wanted to visit.

Her problem: she’s overwhelmed. She has:

- A rough idea of “Columbus to Denver, maybe via St. Louis and Kansas City?” - A hotel membership she’d like to use. - A bad knee that doesn’t love long driving days. - A desire to avoid the most stressful traffic. - And a total lack of patience for fiddling with three different travel websites.

She doesn’t want a Pinterest-perfect itinerary. She just wants a sensible plan: where to stop, roughly how long each day will be, a few decent suggestions for food and sights, and a route that won’t leave her exhausted. She is not going to become a travel hacker. She just wants to know: “If I leave Sunday, where am I sleeping Sunday night, Monday night, and Tuesday night?”

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

I am planning a driving road trip and I want you to act as a practical trip planner.

Here are my details: - Starting point: [YOUR STARTING CITY] - Destination: [YOUR FINAL CITY] - Approximate dates: [YOUR DATES] - Daily driving limit: I prefer to drive no more than [X] hours per day. - Physical needs: I have [any mobility issues or health considerations], so please avoid very long stretches without breaks or strenuous activities. - Preferences: I prefer [interstate highways / scenic routes / avoiding big-city rush hour], and I enjoy [types of things you like: museums, small towns, nature, etc.]. - Budget level: I am comfortable with [budget / mid-range / nicer] hotels and [brief description of food preferences]. - Memberships: I have [hotel chains or programs] and would like to use them if reasonable.

Please: 1. Suggest a day-by-day driving plan including approximate departure and arrival times, total hours driving, and logical stopping cities. 2. For each night, suggest 2-3 specific areas or neighborhoods where it makes sense to stay (not exact hotels, just areas). 3. For each day, recommend 1-2 realistic stops along the way that fit my preferences and don’t add a lot of extra driving time. 4. Mention any tolls, mountain passes, or likely traffic issues I should be aware of. 5. At the end, give me a short packing and preparation checklist tailored to this trip.

Ask me up to five clarifying questions first if anything is vague or could affect the route, then create the plan.

Why this prompt works:

You’re telling the AI exactly what role to play (“practical trip planner”), then giving it the key constraints that matter in real life: driving limits, preferences, memberships, and health considerations. Instead of asking for “ideas,” you’re asking for a structured, day-by-day plan and a short checklist. The instruction to ask clarifying questions first forces the AI to slow down and fill in gaps before it starts generating a schedule, which leads to a more usable result.

AI does not have real-time knowledge of traffic, construction, or weather. It may suggest a route that’s technically fine but ignores a major ongoing road project or seasonal closure. Always cross-check any suggested route using a map app (Google Maps, Apple Maps, Waze) and verify that stops and suggested areas actually exist and match your comfort level. Also, hotel suggestions will be generic - AI is not booking anything for you. Treat this as a first draft, not a final decision.

Use Case 2 of 2

Use Case 2: Writing a complaint letter that actually gets results

On Monday at 9:15am, Leonard, 63, is sitting at his desk in his home office in San Diego, staring at a credit card statement. He’s been charged $480 by a moving company that scratched his dining table and then refused to honor their “damage protection guarantee.” He has already spent forty minutes on the phone with customer service, been told “someone will get back to you,” and received exactly nothing.

Leonard is not looking to start a crusade. He doesn’t want to scream at anyone. He just wants his money back - or at least a reasonable partial refund - and he wants to stop feeling powerless every time a company shrugs off its promises. His draft email is all emotion and no structure: “I’ve been a customer for years, this is unacceptable, I’m very upset.” He knows that probably won’t work. But he also doesn’t know how to write the kind of letter that makes someone at corporate say, “Let’s just fix this.”

This is exactly the kind of task where AI can quietly shine in the background: helping you turn your frustration into a clear, firm, and persuasive complaint that is more likely to be taken seriously.

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

I need help writing a clear, firm, and professional complaint letter that is more likely to get a fair resolution.

Here are the facts: - Company: [NAME OF COMPANY] - Product/service: [WHAT YOU PURCHASED] - Date of purchase/service: [DATE] - What went wrong: [BRIEF, FACTUAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM] - What the company promised: [ANY GUARANTEES, POLICIES, OR SALES CLAIMS THEY MADE] - What has already happened: [WHO YOU SPOKE TO, WHEN, AND WHAT THEY SAID] - What you want: [REFUND / CREDIT / REPAIR / OTHER SPECIFIC OUTCOME] - Relevant policies: [ANY WRITTEN POLICY OR TERMS YOU CAN QUOTE OR SUMMARIZE] - Tone: I want to sound [calm and firm / disappointed but reasonable / assertive but polite], not aggressive or threatening.

Please: 1. Draft a complaint letter I can send by email or mail, with a clear subject line and a straightforward structure. 2. Make the letter: - Specific about dates, amounts, and promises - Polite but firm - Focused on the outcome I’m requesting 3. Include one short paragraph that references their own policies or guarantees in plain language. 4. At the end, add a brief sentence about what I’ll do next if we can’t resolve this (for example, contacting a consumer protection agency or leaving a detailed public review), but keep it non-threatening. 5. Then, give me a bullet list of 5-7 points I should double-check (facts, attachments, screenshots) before I send it.

Ask me any follow-up questions you need before you draft the letter, especially if anything is unclear about the timeline, money amounts, or policies.

Why this prompt works:

You’re giving the AI the raw material - the facts, promises, and desired outcome - and asking it to build a **structured, professional letter** instead of a rant. By specifying tone (“calm and firm,” etc.), you steer it away from over-the-top language. The request to reference their policies in plain language makes the letter stronger without turning it into legalese. Asking for follow-up questions ensures that missing details (dates, names, amounts) get filled in before the letter is drafted.

AI can accidentally drift into sounding more legalistic or threatening than you intend, especially when mentioning next steps. Read the draft out loud and remove anything that feels too dramatic or out of character for you. Also, the AI doesn’t know the company’s actual internal policies beyond what you provide; if it invents specific policy names or quotes, delete those. Stick to what you can confirm from your receipts, emails, or the company’s website.