Don’t just use AI as a chatbot: 7 bigger ways to use it
Most of us use AI like a search box. Give it a bigger job, such as tutor, analyst or rehearsal coach, and it becomes far more useful.
Video transcript
Most of us use AI for quick questions and the odd email. That’s useful, but it can do far more. Here are seven bigger jobs to give it.
Here’s the shift. Instead of asking for an answer, give it a role, like tutor or coach, and let it question, test and challenge you.
So instead of asking it to rewrite your email, ask for feedback. Instead of asking for a plan, hand it yours and ask for the weak spots.
Four roles help you think. A thinking partner finds weak spots. A tutor teaches, then tests. An editor gives feedback. And a rehearsal coach plays the other side of a tricky conversation.
Three more handle practical jobs. An analyst answers questions about your spreadsheet or document. A planner turns a goal into steps. And a maker builds checklists, templates, even simple tools.
Try it with something real. Share a plan you’re making and ask for the weak spots. A good reply is specific, and asks what you want to tackle next.
One warning. AI often tells you what you want to hear. So ask for an honest view, check anything important, and keep the final decision yourself.
Pick one role and try it this week. The full guide below has all seven, with prompts you can copy.
In 30 seconds
- Most of us use AI for quick questions and replies, but it can take on far bigger jobs.
- Give it a role: thinking partner, tutor, analyst, editor, rehearsal coach, project planner or maker.
- Ask it to question, test and coach you, not just answer, and you stay in charge.
Most of us fell into the same habit. We ask AI a quick question, the way we’d use a search box, or get it to reply to an awkward email. It’s handy. But it’s a bit like owning a Swiss Army knife and only ever using the bottle opener.
The habit trap
of messages to ChatGPT were people asking for information or advice. Another 40% asked it to do a task, such as drafting text.
Source: National Bureau of Economic Research, How People Use ChatGPT, September 2025Both are useful. But you get much more from AI when you stop treating it as an answer machine and give it a role: someone to question you, test you or rehearse with you.
| Chatbot habit | Bigger use |
|---|---|
| Ask what a word means | Ask it to teach you the topic, then test you |
| Get it to rewrite your email | Ask for feedback, then make the changes yourself |
| Ask it for a plan | Hand it your plan and ask it to pick holes in it |
| Ask how to prepare for an interview | Practise the interview with it, one question at a time |
Four roles that sharpen your thinking
- Thinking partnerTalks ideas through and finds the weak spots. Try: “Here’s my plan to sell birthday cakes from home. Pick holes in it.”
- TutorTeaches at your level, then checks you’ve got it. Try: “Teach me how compound interest works, then test me.”
- EditorGives honest feedback without rewriting your words. Try: “Mark up my cover letter. Point out what’s unclear, but don’t rewrite it.”
- Rehearsal coachPlays the other person so you can practise. Try: “Interview me for a nursery manager job, one question at a time.”
Here’s a plan I’m considering: [describe it in a few lines]. Act as a friendly but honest critic. Point out the three biggest weaknesses, the assumption most likely to be wrong, and one question I haven’t asked myself. Don’t just reassure me.
Three roles that get things done
- AnalystReads a spreadsheet or PDF you upload and answers questions about it. Try: “What changed most in our club’s accounts since last year?”
- Project plannerTurns a goal into steps and a timeline. Try: “I want to clear out the loft by Christmas. Give me a weekly plan.”
- MakerBuilds things you can reuse, from checklists and templates to simple tools. Try: “Make me a printable packing checklist.”
Some assistants can even build a small working tool, such as a budget calculator, from a description in plain English. That’s known as Jargon busterVibe coding: Building software by describing what you want in plain English and letting AI write the code..
I’ve uploaded [a spreadsheet or PDF] of [what it is, e.g. our club’s accounts for the last two years]. First, tell me in three lines what it contains. Then answer this: [your question]. For each answer, show which rows or pages it comes from, so I can check.
Make me a reusable [checklist or template] for [the job, e.g. getting the house ready before we go on holiday]. Group it into sections, keep each item short, and format it so I can print it or paste it into my notes app.
Make the most of it
- Give it the full picture. Say who you are, what you’re trying to do and what a good result looks like.
- Let it ask first. Add “ask me any questions you need before you start” and its answer will fit you better.
- Ask for honesty. AI tends to agree with you, a habit called Jargon busterSycophancy: When an AI tells you what you want to hear, agreeing with you instead of giving an honest view., so ask for criticism directly.
- Check what matters. It can make up a figure that sounds right, called a Jargon busterHallucination: When AI states something false as if it were true, because it predicts plausible words rather than checking facts., so check numbers against the file.
Start with the role that fits your week. For more, see AI as a tutor or using AI to think through a decision.
Check yourself
3 quick questions nothing is savedSources (1)
- How People Use ChatGPTNational Bureau of Economic Research, September 2025
Spotted a mistake? Tell us and an editor will check it.
