In a fresh development, knowing when to delegate. That’s one of the lessons I learned during my (brief) stints as a boss, and it applies to AI, too. You know what’s harder than making decisions?
In a fresh development, and picking the right tasks to delegate can be surprisingly tough. ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can all be very powerful and productive in our everyday lives, but only if we’re delegating the right tasks to them.
Industry observers note that (I know I have.) Which portable monitor should I buy? What should my fresh website look like? Where should I go on vacation? Should I break up with my partner? (Please don’t ever ask AI that one.). Sometimes, instead of delegating, we ask AI to make decisions.
In a fresh development, again, deciding what to delegate isn’t easy. Instead of asking AI to decide for you, ask AI what it can do for you — and actually, even that question is one you need to answer yourself.
The report highlights that welcome to another edition of Prompt Mode, your weekly AI newsletter.
In a fresh development, each week on Prompt Mode, I’ll be serving up analysis of the AI trends that matter to everyday users like you and me. Stay tuned for practical AI tips, hands-on experiences with the most recent AI tools, and–you guessed it–prompts to help you get the most out of your AI assistants. I’m your host, Ben Patterson.
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Industry observers note that if you can answer “yes” to some or all of them, you’ve found a solid chore to delegate to ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Still, to make it a little easier, try asking yourself these three questions before you hand off a task to AI.
In a fresh development, some of the best tasks to hand off to AI are the really boring ones.
According to the latest update, or (in the global stage of coding), you have a giant log file and you need to find all the error messages. Or maybe you’re shopping for portable monitors and you want their functions compared in a chart. Say, for example, there’s a stack of manuscripts on your desk and you need to count all the commas.
The report highlights that three different tasks, all of them a bit tedious, all of them perfect for AI.
As part of the ongoing story, tasks that begin with phrases like “Each day,” “Every time,” “Whenever (such and such) happens” also make for great ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini duties, particularly since all of those AI chatbots support scheduled actions.
The report highlights that it’s a daily chore that I’m happy to hand off. For example, I’ve already written about how AI can be a terrific email assistant, triaging the messages in your inbox and tucking away the marketing junk.
The report highlights that all those tasks tee up decisions for you at the end. ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are great at (for example) compiling data for a publisher presentation, coding the pages of a website, or gathering average hotel prices and daily temperatures for spring break destinations.
Industry observers note that but if you’re about to give a task to AI that involves following that task through to completion, end-to-end (“Gather our monthly sales data, write a report, and send copies to every member of the team”), you’re ceding the decision making to AI.
Industry observers note that keep the decisions for yourself. Putting it all together: Delegate the legwork to AI.
In a fresh development, but plucking the to-dos out of those disjointed ramblings can be a chore unto itself. Sometimes, the best way to brainstorm is to fire up a voice memo app and just talk, particularly when it comes to your list of daily tasks.
Industry observers note that with the right prompt, you can make any one of those AI chatbots sift through your notes, pinpoint your gotta-do tasks, and turn them into a list, all without adding any extraneous commentary. Give the “daily to-do transcriber” prompt a try. Here’s where ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini can come in handy.
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As part of the ongoing story, his coverage of artificial intelligence interrogates the most recent LLMs, and how they can be used at work and at home to be best prepared for the AI revolution. “AI is going to change our lives sooner than we think,” Ben writes. “Our best way to adapt is by using it every day.” Ben has been a PCWorld author since 2014, and has covered everything from laptops to security cameras before launching PCWorld’s AI beat. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature. Ben has been writing about consumer technology for more than 20 years, and now focuses his reporting on AI as it relates to the basic human experience.