Let AI help with life admin: bills, letters and forms
AI can turn a baffling letter into plain English, draft a firm complaint and walk you through a form. Here’s how, and what to keep to yourself.
Video transcript
Bills, letters, forms and complaints. Life admin eats into everyone’s week. Here’s how an AI assistant can take some of the sting out of it, safely.
Paste in a confusing letter, or snap a photo of it, and ask three things. What is this? What do I owe? And what do I need to do, by when?
It’s good at the why, too. Here, two estimated meter readings were too low, so this bill is catching up. That’s an answer that could take you half an hour to dig out.
It can draft a firm, polite complaint, explain each question on a form, list what to gather before you start, and give you the right questions to ask when you’re comparing offers.
One habit matters more than any other. Before you paste or photograph anything, hide your account numbers and your National Insurance number. The AI doesn’t need them to help you.
Then check every figure yourself, because AI can misread a number and still sound sure. And if you’re in a real dispute, Citizens Advice gives free, confidential help.
Read the full guide below for prompts you can copy, including one for a complaint letter that gets a reply.
In 30 seconds
- Ask AI what a letter means, what you owe and what you need to do by when.
- Cover account numbers and your National Insurance number before you paste or photograph anything.
- Check every figure yourself, and take real disputes to Citizens Advice.
A brown envelope lands on the mat: three pages about your council tax, a table of figures and a deadline. You read it twice and still aren’t sure what they want. This is exactly the kind of job an Jargon busterAI assistant: A chat app such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini that answers questions and does tasks you describe in plain language. does well.
Turn any letter into plain English
Paste in the text or take a photo. Most assistants, such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, are Jargon busterMultimodal: An AI that understands more than one kind of input, such as text, pictures, sound and video., so they can read a picture of a page as well as typed words.
Then ask three things: what is this, what do I owe and what do I need to do by when? It works on an energy bill, a council tax letter or an insurance renewal. Ask it to flag anything unusual, too, such as an estimated reading or a price that has jumped.
You: Here’s my energy bill, with the account number covered. Why is it so much higher than last quarter? And what’s a standing charge?
AI: Your last two bills used estimated readings that were too low. This one uses an actual reading, so it catches up. The standing charge is a fixed daily fee for being connected, however much you use. Worth checking: does the reading on page 2 match your meter?
Complain firmly, and politely
When something goes wrong, AI is good at tone. Give it the facts and the outcome you want, and it will draft something calm and clear rather than cross. A calm letter with the facts in order is harder to brush off.
Include dates, what happened, what you’ve already tried and exactly what you want, and ask for a reply within 14 days. Leave a gap for your account number and fill it in yourself before you send it.
Help me write a firm but polite complaint to [company]. What happened: [describe it, with dates]. What I’ve tried so far: [calls, emails and what they said]. What I want: [a refund, a repair, an apology]. Keep it under 250 words with a clear subject line. Ask for a reply within 14 days, and leave [ACCOUNT NUMBER] as a gap for me to fill in.
Forms, checklists and comparing offers
Get through any form
- Ask what it’s forPaste in the form’s questions, not your answers, and ask what each one means in plain English.
- Make a checklistAsk what documents and numbers you’ll need, so you can gather everything before you start.
- Fill it in yourselfType your answers straight into the real form, on the official website or on paper.
- Trust the guidance notesMost official forms come with notes. If the AI and the notes disagree, the notes win.
Comparing offers works the same way. Don’t ask which deal is cheapest, because prices change daily. Ask for the questions to put to each provider instead, such as what’s covered, how much the Jargon busterExcess: The amount you agree to pay yourself towards an insurance claim. The insurer pays the rest. is and what has changed since last year.
My [car / home / travel] insurance renewal has arrived. List the eight most important questions to ask before I renew or switch, most important first. Explain any jargon in one line each, and tell me which details to find on my current policy so I can compare like with like.
Keep it safe, and check the sums
- Check every figure yourself. AI can misread a number or get a sum wrong and still sound sure. When it states something false as fact, it’s called a Jargon busterHallucination: When AI states something false as if it were true, because it predicts plausible words rather than checking facts..
- It isn’t a referee. For a real dispute, with a company, a landlord or the council, get free, confidential advice from Citizens Advice.
Think of AI as a patient friend who’s good with paperwork: you still sign, send and pay. For more on what to share, read is AI safe to use?, and for statements and budgets, see AI and your money.
Check yourself
3 quick questions nothing is savedTools in this guide
Spotted a mistake? Tell us and an editor will check it.
