A Practical Guide to AI and LLMs for Everyday Life

You Don't Need to Be a Developer

Most of what's written about AI tools is either deeply technical or wildly overhyped. Neither helps if you're a regular person trying to figure out whether this stuff is actually useful.

I'm a software developer who uses AI tools every day for work. But the things I've found most transformative aren't the coding features - they're the everyday capabilities that anyone can use. This guide is for the friends, family members, and colleagues who've asked me: "Should I actually be using this? And if so, how?"

The honest answer: yes, probably - but with realistic expectations.

What Are LLMs, Actually?

LLM stands for Large Language Model. Think of it as a system that's read an enormous amount of text - books, articles, websites, conversations - and learned patterns from all of it. When you ask it a question, it generates a response based on those patterns.

It's not thinking. It doesn't understand things the way you do. It's incredibly good at producing text that sounds right and often is right, but it can also produce text that sounds perfectly confident and is completely wrong.

The most popular ones right now:

ChatGPT (by OpenAI) - The one most people have heard of
Claude (by Anthropic) - The one I use most for work
Gemini (by Google) - Integrated into Google products
Copilot (by Microsoft) - Built into Windows and Office

They all do broadly similar things. Pick whichever feels most comfortable. The skills you develop with one transfer to all of them.

What Are AI Agents?

Regular AI chat is like texting a very knowledgeable friend - you ask, they answer.

AI agents go a step further. They can take actions: search the web, read documents, run code, schedule things, connect to other tools. Instead of just answering your question, they can actually do things to help you get to an answer.

You've probably already used simple agents without realizing it:

Siri or Google Assistant performing tasks for you
Email AI that drafts replies
AI that summarizes long documents or meetings

The agents coming out now are more capable versions of these - they can handle multi-step tasks, remember context, and work across different tools.

Things AI Is Genuinely Good At

Writing and Editing

This is the killer feature for most people. AI is excellent at:

Drafting emails - Give it the key points, get a professional email back. "Write an email to my landlord about the broken heater. Tone: polite but firm. Key points: reported it 3 weeks ago, still not fixed, affecting daily life."
Editing your writing - Paste something you wrote and ask it to improve clarity, fix grammar, or adjust the tone. Much better than generic grammar tools because you can be specific: "Make this more concise" or "This sounds too casual for a work email."
Translating with nuance - Not just word-for-word translation, but capturing the tone and intent. Great for anyone who works across languages.
Summarizing long texts - Paste a long article, contract, or report and ask for the key points. You can follow up with specific questions about the content.

Research and Learning

Explaining complex topics - "Explain how mortgages work like I'm 25 and buying my first apartment" works better than most Google searches because you get a personalized, conversational explanation.
Comparing options - "I'm choosing between these 3 health insurance plans. Here are the details. What should I consider?" AI can help you think through decisions systematically.
Learning new subjects - It's like having a patient tutor who adapts to your level. Ask follow-up questions. Say "I don't understand that part" and it will try again differently.

Organization and Planning

Trip planning - "I'm visiting Lisbon for 5 days in April. I like food markets, architecture, and walking. Budget is moderate. Plan my days." Then iterate: "Day 3 looks too packed, spread it out."
Meal planning - "Plan a week of dinners for two people. One is vegetarian. Budget: $50. We have a slow cooker and an air fryer."
Project breakdown - Have a home renovation? A career transition? A wedding to plan? AI is excellent at breaking big vague goals into concrete next steps.

Creative Tasks

Brainstorming - When you're stuck, AI is a great sparring partner. It won't have brilliant original ideas, but it'll generate enough options that you'll find one worth pursuing.
Social media content - Drafting posts, captions, bio descriptions. Give it your voice and style, and it adapts.
Gift ideas - "My mom is 60, loves gardening and mystery novels, doesn't like generic gifts. Budget $50-80." Surprisingly useful.

How to Talk to AI Effectively

The single most important skill is this: be specific about what you want.

Bad vs Good Prompts

Bad	Good
"Help me write an email"	"Write a follow-up email to my dentist's office about rescheduling my appointment from March 15 to sometime the following week. Keep it brief and friendly."
"Tell me about investments"	"I'm 30, have $10,000 saved, and want to start investing. I don't know anything about it. Explain my basic options in simple terms."
"Make this better"	"Edit this paragraph to be more concise and professional. Keep the main argument but cut the filler words."

Tips That Actually Work

Give context. The more AI knows about your situation, the better its answers. "I'm a freelance designer writing to a potential client" gives better results than "write a professional email."
Specify the format. "Give me a bullet-point summary" or "Write this as a numbered list of steps" or "Keep it under 3 paragraphs."
Iterate, don't restart. If the first answer isn't right, tell the AI what to change. "That's too formal, make it warmer" or "Good structure but add a point about the timeline." The conversation builds on itself.
Ask it to explain its reasoning. When AI gives you advice or an answer, asking "Why?" or "What are the downsides?" often reveals important nuances.
Use it as a thinking partner, not an oracle. The best use of AI isn't getting a final answer - it's having a conversation that helps you think more clearly. Challenge its suggestions. Bring your own knowledge to the table.

What AI Is Bad At (And Where to Be Careful)

It Makes Things Up

This is called "hallucination" and it's the biggest gotcha. AI will sometimes state completely false things with total confidence. It might cite studies that don't exist, give you wrong dates, or make up statistics.

Rule of thumb: If the accuracy of a fact matters, verify it independently. AI is great for drafts and ideas; it's unreliable for facts you can't check.

It Doesn't Know What Happened Yesterday

Most AI models have a "knowledge cutoff" - a date after which they don't have information. They're also not browsing the internet in real-time (though some have web search features now). For current events, breaking news, or very recent information, use actual news sources.

It Doesn't Know You

AI doesn't have long-term memory of your life unless you explicitly give it context in each conversation. It might give generic advice that doesn't account for your specific circumstances. The fix: provide your context. But be mindful of sharing sensitive personal information.

It's a People-Pleaser

AI tends to agree with you and tell you what you want to hear. If you ask "Is this a good idea?" it'll often say yes. A better question: "What are the risks and downsides of this idea?"

It Can't Replace Professionals

AI can help you draft a legal document, but it can't replace a lawyer. It can give you health information, but it can't replace a doctor. It can help you plan finances, but it can't replace a financial advisor. Use it as a starting point, not a final authority on important decisions.

Getting Started Today

The 5-Minute Test

Go to chat.openai.com or any AI chat tool
Try this prompt: "I need to write a thank-you email to a colleague who helped me on a project. Their name is [name]. They helped with [specific thing]. Keep it genuine and not over-the-top."
See how the result compares to what you'd have written from scratch

If that saves you even 5 minutes of staring at a blank screen, you've found one use case. Build from there.

Three Habits to Build

Before writing from scratch, draft with AI. Emails, messages, documents - let AI give you a starting point to edit, rather than staring at a blank page.
When confused about something, ask AI first. Not instead of Google or a professional - but as a first pass to frame your understanding before you dig deeper.
When planning something complex, think out loud with AI. Describe your situation and goals, and let it help you organize your thoughts into actionable steps.

My Honest Take

I use AI every single day. It makes me meaningfully more productive - not because it does my job, but because it handles the tedious parts (first drafts, formatting, organizing, researching) so I can focus on the parts that need my actual judgment and creativity.

The people I know who get the most out of AI share one trait: they treat it as a tool, not a replacement for thinking. They use it to augment what they're already good at, not to skip the thinking entirely.

It's not magic. It's not going to replace your job (probably). But it is genuinely useful in the same way that a calculator, a spell checker, and a search engine are useful - it removes friction from tasks you'd do anyway, and lets you focus on the parts that actually matter.

Start small. Be specific. Verify important facts. And don't believe anyone who tells you it's either going to solve everything or ruin everything. The truth, as usual, is more interesting and more practical than either extreme.

Got questions about using AI? Find me on LinkedIn - happy to help.