Most people who use AI are using about five per cent of it. They type a question, get a wall of text back, decide it is a bit average, and go back to Google.
The gap between a boring answer and a genuinely useful one is almost never the tool. It is how you ask. These ten take under two minutes each, work on the free version of ChatGPT, Gemini or Copilot, and every one of them comes with the exact words to type.
This is the first in a weekly series. If you are completely new to this, start with our guide to AI for absolute beginners and come back.
1. Make it interview you first
The best single trick, and almost nobody does it. Add this to the end of any request:
"Before you answer, ask me three questions you need answered to do this well."
It will come back with three genuinely relevant questions. You answer them. What you get next is specific to your situation rather than generic advice written for nobody in particular. Works for planning a trip, choosing a laptop, writing a difficult email, anything.
2. Show it instead of describing it
Stop typing descriptions of physical objects. Take a photo.
A flashing light on the dishwasher. A cable in the drawer you cannot identify. A rash on a leaf. A dish on a menu in another language. A form with a section you do not understand. Photograph it, upload it, and ask "what am I looking at, and what should I do about it?"
On an Android phone, Gemini Live will let you show it your camera and talk to it at the same time, free, which is like being on a video call with someone patient who knows a bit about everything.
3. Let Windows look at your screen
If you are on Windows 11, Copilot can see what is on your screen and talk you through it. Open Copilot, turn on the glasses icon, and ask "what does this window do and what should I click to save this as a PDF?"
This is the fix for the classic problem of not knowing the name of the thing you are stuck on. You do not have to describe it. It is looking at it.
4. Paste the email and ask what they actually want
Long emails from strata, insurers, government departments and schools are often three paragraphs of context wrapped around one action item.
"Here is an email I received. Tell me in one sentence what they are actually asking me to do, whether there is a deadline, and what happens if I ignore it."
Then follow up with "draft a short polite reply that agrees to the date but asks them to confirm the cost in writing" and you have handled the whole thing in ninety seconds.
5. Ask for the version that is actually blunt
AI is trained to be agreeable, which makes it a poor critic by default. Force it:
"What is wrong with this plan? Be blunt. Give me the three most likely ways this goes badly."
Use it on a business decision, a renovation quote, a holiday itinerary or a message you are about to send while annoyed. The last one has saved a lot of people a lot of trouble.
6. Set the level, not just the topic
"Explain how superannuation works" gets you either a children's book or a textbook, and you have no control over which.
"Explain how superannuation contribution caps work. Assume I am an intelligent adult who has simply never had it explained. No jargon, and stop and define anything you cannot avoid."
You can also say "explain it like I am fifteen" or "explain it the way you would to a colleague who works in a different department". The level is a dial, and most people never touch it.
7. Turn a photo into a list
Photograph a handwritten shopping list, a whiteboard, a page of a recipe book, a stack of receipts, a business card, a screenshot of a group chat where everyone has said what they are bringing.
"Turn this into a clean typed list, sorted by category."
It reads handwriting far better than you would expect. This is the tip that converts sceptics, because the time saved is immediate and obvious.
8. Give it a role and an audience
Compare "write something about our new opening hours" with:
"You are writing for a small Australian business's Facebook page. The audience is local residents aged 30 to 70. Write three short posts announcing that we now open at 7am on Saturdays. Friendly, no exclamation marks, under 40 words each."
Role, audience, format, length, tone. Five extra seconds of typing, and the difference in output is not small.
9. Use it as a translator with manners
Translation apps give you words. An AI assistant gives you the right register.
"Translate this into Italian as a polite, slightly formal message to a small family run hotel. I want to sound respectful rather than casual."
Then ask "what would they be likely to say back, and what should I have ready?" Handy before a trip, and genuinely handy for anyone dealing with family who speak another language at home.
10. Run suspicious messages past it
Paste in a text or email you are unsure about, with your personal details removed, and ask:
"Is this a scam? What are the specific tells, and what would the legitimate version of this message look like?"
It is very good at this, and more importantly it teaches you the pattern so you catch the next one yourself. Australians lost $2.18 billion to scams in 2025, and phishing was the most reported type by a wide margin. Our guide on what to do if you think you have been hacked covers what to do if one gets through.
Two things not to do this week
Do not paste personal information. No tax file numbers, bank details, passwords, Medicare numbers or other people's private information. Blank them out before you paste anything. The rule of thumb: if you would not put it in an email to a stranger, do not put it here.
Do not trust a specific fact without checking it. Prices, opening hours, phone numbers, dates, laws and dosages. AI produces confident, plausible, occasionally wrong answers, and it has no way of knowing which is which. Ask "what are you basing that on?" and check anything that matters.
Common questions
Is AI free to use in Australia?
Yes. ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Claude all have free versions that are genuinely useful, and Gemini and Copilot are already built into most Android phones and Windows 11 computers. The paid plans mainly buy you higher limits and faster models rather than different core abilities, so there is no need to pay anything while you are learning.
What is the best AI prompt for beginners?
Add this to the end of any request: before you answer, ask me three questions you need answered to do this well. The tool will interview you first, and the answer you get back is specific to your situation instead of generic advice. It works on every major assistant and it is the single biggest quality improvement most beginners can make.
Is it safe to put personal information into AI chatbots?
No. Never enter tax file numbers, bank or card details, passwords, Medicare numbers, passport or licence details, or another person's private information. Depending on your plan and settings, conversations can be reviewed or used to improve the service, and most tools let you turn that off in settings. A simple test: if you would not put it in an email to a stranger, do not paste it here.
The one to start with
If you only try one of these, make it number one. Getting the tool to ask you questions before it answers changes the quality of everything else you do with it, and it takes four extra words.
We will be back next week with ten more. If you want a hand getting set up, or you would rather have someone sit with you and go through this on your own phone with your own examples, book a HelloTech technician and we will come to you.
