Last summer, two readers wrote to me about very different kinds of stress. One was trying to plan a road trip with three adults, one dog, and too much optimism. The other had been ignored by a company for six weeks and wanted a complaint letter that would finally get a human response. Both problems are really about the same thing: using AI to do the heavy lifting *without* losing your judgment.

These two uses matter because they save time in places where people usually get stuck. Trip planning turns into a spreadsheet nightmare. Complaint letters turn into angry drafts that feel satisfying but go nowhere. A good prompt gives you structure, not magic.

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 a Tuesday in late June, Linda in Des Moines sat at her kitchen table with a stack of map printouts, a half-charged phone, and two questions her family kept asking: “How long will it really take?” and “Are we stopping anywhere worth seeing?” She and her husband were driving to Yellowstone with their daughter, her daughter’s boyfriend, and a nervous golden retriever. Linda did not need a fantasy itinerary. She needed something practical: a route that avoided miserable driving days, included dog-friendly stops, and did not land them in a town with one motel and a gas station at 9 p.m. That is where AI can help if you tell it the real constraints instead of just saying, “Plan my road trip.”

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

```text You are helping me plan a realistic road trip, not a fantasy vacation.

Trip details: - Starting point: - Destination: - Dates or total number of days: - Number of travelers and ages: - Vehicle type: - Any pets: - Budget range: - Driving comfort level: - Must-see places: - Places to avoid: - Food preferences or dietary needs: - Accessibility needs: - Preferred pace: relaxed / moderate / fast

Your job: 1. Build a day-by-day route with driving times that are reasonable for real people. 2. Suggest good places to stop for breakfast, lunch, and overnight stays. 3. Include at least 2 backup options for each day in case weather, fatigue, or traffic changes the plan. 4. Point out any day that looks too long or unrealistic and explain why. 5. Recommend a version of this trip that is best for a road trip with [dog/kids/older adults] if relevant. 6. List anything I should book in advance. 7. End with a short checklist of what I should confirm before leaving.

Important rules: - Do not make up attractions. - If you are unsure about a place, say so. - Prioritize practicality over novelty. - Keep the plan easy to follow. ```

Why this prompt works: It gives the AI the facts that actually shape a trip: who is going, how far they can comfortably drive, what needs to be avoided, and what “good” means in this situation. It also tells the system to flag unrealistic days instead of smoothing over them. That matters because AI is often too cheerful. If you don’t ask it to be practical, it will happily design a road trip that looks beautiful and feels exhausting.

Use Case 2 of 2

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

On a Monday morning in August, Robert in Cleveland opened his email and saw the same thing he had seen for three weeks: nothing. He had returned a damaged recliner, called customer service twice, and been told his case was “escalated,” which is corporate for “we hope you go away.” He was ready to write a furious message. But fury is not the same as leverage. A complaint letter works best when it is calm, specific, and hard to ignore. AI can help you write that kind of letter, especially if you give it the evidence and the outcome you want.

Here is the exact prompt to use:

Copy and paste this into ChatGPT or Claude:

```text Help me write a complaint letter that is firm, clear, and more likely to get a useful response.

Situation: - Company or organization: - What I bought or experienced: - What went wrong: - Dates and timeline: - Previous attempts to fix it: - Names of people I spoke with, if any: - Evidence I have: - What I want as a resolution: - Deadline for response: - Tone I want: calm / firm / very firm / formal

Write the letter in a professional tone that sounds like a real person, not a legal threat unless I ask for one.

Please include: 1. A strong opening sentence that states the problem clearly. 2. A short factual summary of what happened. 3. A clear explanation of the impact on me. 4. A specific request for resolution. 5. A deadline for response. 6. A closing line that is polite but not weak.

Also give me: - A shorter version I can paste into a web form. - A more forceful version in case the first letter is ignored. - A list of details I should double-check before sending.

Do not use vague language. Do not exaggerate. Do not invent laws or policies. ```

Why this prompt works: Good complaint letters are built on facts, timeline, and a clear ask. This prompt forces the AI to organize those three things instead of producing a long emotional speech. That is important because companies respond better when they can quickly see what happened, what you want, and when you expect an answer. The extra version for a web form is useful too, because many complaint systems have tight character limits.

Know someone who spends too long on things AI could do in two minutes? Forward this to three people who subscribe and I will send you my free AI Prompt Starter Pack: 20 ready-to-use prompts for everyday life.

By Dr. Rowan Hayes