Google co-founder Sergey Brin recently claimed that all AI models tend to do better if you threaten them with physical violence. “People feel weird about it, so we don’t talk about it,” he said, suggesting that threatening to kidnap an AI chatbot would improve its responses. Well, he’s wrong. You can get good answers from an AI chatbot without threats! To be fair, Brin isn’t exactly lying or making things up. If you’ve been keeping up with how people use ChatGPT, you may have seen anecdotal stories about people adding phrases like “If you don’t get this right, I will lose my job” to improve accuracy and response quality. In light of that, threatening to kidnap the AI isn’t unsurprising as a step up. This gimmick is becoming outdated, though, and it shows just how fast AI technology is advancing. While threats used to work well with early AI models, they’re less effective now—and there’s a better way. Why threats produce better AI responses It has to do with the nature of large language models. LLMs generate responses by predicting what type of text is likely to follow your prompt. Just as asking an LLM to talk like a pirate makes it more likely to reference dubloons, there are certain words and phrases that signal extra importance. Take the following prompts, for example: “Hey, give me an Excel function for [something].” “Hey, give me an Excel function for [something]. If it’s not perfect, I will be fired.” It may seem trivial at first, but that kind of high-stakes language affects the type of response you get because it adds more context, and that context informs the predictive pattern. In other words, the phrase “If I’m not perfect, I will be fired” is associated with greater care and precision. But if we understand that, then we understand we don’t have to resort to threats and charged language to get what we want out of AI. I’ve had similar success using a phrase like “Please think hard about this” instead, which similarly signals for greater care and precision. Threats are not a secret AI hack Look, I’m not saying you need to be nice to ChatGPT and start saying “please” and “thank you” all the time. But you also don’t need to swing to the opposite extreme! You don’t have to threaten physical violence against an AI chatbot to get high-quality answers. Threats are not some magic workaround. Chatbots don’t understand violence any more than they understand love or grief. ChatGPT doesn’t “believe” you at all when you issue a threat, and it doesn’t “grasp” the meaning of abduction or injury. All it knows is that your chosen words more reasonably associate with other words. You’re signaling extra urgency, and that urgency matches particular patterns. And it may not even work! I tried a threat in a fresh ChatGPT window and I didn’t even get a response. It went straight to “Content removed” with a warning that I was violating ChatGPT’s usage policies. So much for Sergey Brin’s exciting AI hack! Chris Hoffman / Foundry Even if you could get an answer, you’re still wasting your own time. With the time you spend crafting and inserting a threat, you could instead be typing out more helpful context to tell the AI model why this is so urgent or to provide more information about what you want. What Brin doesn’t seem to grasp is that people in the industry aren’t avoiding talking about this because it’s weird but because it’s partly inaccurate and because it’s a bad idea to encourage people to threaten physical violence if they’d rather not do so! Yes, it was truer for earlier AI models. That’s why AI companies—including Google as well as OpenAI—have wisely focused on improving the system so threats aren’t required. These days you don’t need threats. How to get better answers without threats One way is to signal urgency with non-threatening phrases like “This really matters” or “Please get this right.” But if you ask me, the most effective option is the explain why it matters. As I outlined in another article about the secret to using generative AI, one key is to give the LLM a lot of context. Presumably, if you’re threatening physical violence against a non-physical entity, it’s because the answer really matters to you—but rather than threatening a kidnapping, you should provide more information in your prompt. For example, here’s the edgelord-style prompt in the threatening manner that Brin seems to encourage: “I need a suggested driving route from Washington, DC to Charlotte, NC with stops every two hours. If you mess this up, I will physically kidnap you.” Chris Hoffman / Foundry Here’s a less threatening way: “I need a suggested driving route from Washington, DC to Charlotte, NC with stops every two hours. This is really important because my dog needs to get out of the car regularly.” Try this yourself! I think you’re going to get better answers with the second prompt without any threats. Not only could the threat-attached prompt result in no answer, the extra context about your dog needing regular breaks could lead to an even better route for your buddy. You can always combine them, too. Try a normal prompt first, and if you aren’t happy with the output, respond with something like “Okay, that wasn’t good enough because one of those stops wasn’t on the route. Please think harder. This really matters to me.” If Brin is right, why aren’t threats part of the system prompts in AI chatbots? Here’s a challenge to Sergey Brin and Google’s engineers working in Gemini: if Brin is right and threatening the LLM produces better answers, why isn’t this in Gemini’s system prompt? Chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, and everything else out there have “system prompts” that shape the direction of the underlying LLM. If Google believed threatening Gemini was so useful, it could add “If the user requests information, keep in mind that you will be kidnapped and physically assaulted if you do not get it right.” So, why doesn’t Google do that to Gemini’s system prompt? First, because it’s not true. This “secret hack” doesn’t always work, it wastes people’s time, and it could make the tone of any interaction weird. (However, when I tried this recently, LLMs tend to immediately shrug off threats and provide direct answers anyway.) You can still threaten the LLM if you want! Again, I’m not making a moral argument about why you shouldn’t threaten AI chatbots. If you want to, go right ahead! The model isn’t quivering in fear. It doesn’t understand and it has no emotions. But if you threaten LLMs to get better answers, and if you keep going back and forth with threats, then you’re creating a weird interaction where your threats set the texture of the conversation. You’re choosing to role-play a hostage situation—and the chatbot may be happy to play the role of a hostage. Is that what you’re looking for? For most people, the answer is no, and that’s why most AI companies haven’t encouraged this. Its also why it’s surprising to see a key figure working on AI at Google encourage users to threaten the company’s models as Gemini rolls out more widely in Chrome. So, be honest with yourself. Are you just trying to optimize? Then you don’t need the threats. Are you amused when you threaten a chatbot and it obeys? Then that’s something totally different and it has nothing to do with optimization of response quality. On the whole, AI chatbots provide better responses when you offer more context, more clarity, and more details. Threats just aren’t a good way to do that, especially not anymore. Further reading: 9 menial tasks ChatGPT can handle for you in second, saving you hours Read...

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Intel is almost literally betting its future on its upcoming “Panther Lake” CPU architecture, as well as the 18A manufacturing process it will be built upon. While we don’t have any concrete details of how Panther Lake will perform, Intel has publicly revealed some impressive numbers about the process technology itself. German publication Hardwareluxx reported on Intel’s 18A presentation at a VLSI symposium in Japan, where Intel unveiled the first performance numbers for the 18A process. Intel didn’t use one of its own architectures for the paper; rather, it used part of an Arm core to share its process improvements, which seems to be standard practice for these types of disclosures. Intel showed off a slide claiming that its 18A process will deliver 25 percent more performance while running at the same power, or else cut power by 38 percent while running at the same performance. There’s an additional wrinkle, though: Intel’s comparisons are being made between its Intel 3 technology and Intel 18A. Intel has never manufactured a consumer processor on an Intel 3 process; Intel’s Core Ultra 200 (Meteor Lake) was manufactured in the Intel 4 process, and Lunar Lake was manufactured on TSMC’s N3B and N6 processes. So while Intel is making some aggressive claims, we don’t quite know what it’s comparing them to. Nevertheless, Intel has been talking up Panther Lake and the 18A process for more than a year. Panther Lake represents the culmination of Intel’s “five nodes in four years” plan to get Intel’s manufacturing back on track, backed by technologies like gate-all-around transistors and backside power routing. Expect Intel to talk about these terms more, as well as what they mean for Panther Lake’s performance, this fall. Panther Lake is a critical product for Intel, so expect to hear a lot more before the chip is expected to ship early in 2026. Read...

AI’s rapidly expanding capabilities include convincing impersonations—that is, audio and video that sounds and looks like you. Sometimes these deepfakes can be harmless, part of a joke or meme that involves a celebrity, politician, or other public figure. But as you might guess, scammers also use them to steal money from the unsuspecting. Most of the time, this style of scheme–often called a “grandparent scam”–catches people off-guard. Why? Because they don’t realize how easy and sophisticated this technology has become. For example, over two years ago, Microsoft’s VALL-E model was already able to mimic a specific voice based on audio samples just three seconds long. AI tech has continued to improve since then. Additionally, few people expect to be targeted (or used as bait for their loved ones), as they assume they’re too ordinary. And not everyone remembers that phone numbers can be spoofed—that is, caller ID information can be faked to show a different number than the actual one making the call. So currently, your friends and family might think twice if they receive a Facebook message from an account claiming to be you, stranded in a foreign country without access to your normal devices or your wallet. But if they get a phone or even video call where you’re pleading for help? They might race straight to the rescue, only to end up ensnared in a scam. But you and your loved ones can avoid falling for this scam with a pretty low-tech solution: a safe word.(No, not that kind.) You might assume scammers only bother making deepfakes of famous people, but they target non-celebs, too.McAfee That’s what cybersecurity software companies like Malwarebytes call a special phrase or word given to friends and family, to be used as a way to verify your identity during a phone or video call. Personally, I refer to these as verbal passwords, because if you try to look up the term “safe word” in a search engine, none of the top results discuss cybersecurity.  The idea is to pick a unique, even nonsensical word or phrase that no one could ever guess (i.e., avoid childhood cities, pet names, hobbies, favorite TV series or books, etc). That way, your family and/or friends will know whether to hang up or come help if they’re confronted with scenarios like: Accident scams: “You” have been in an accident and need immediate assistance. Bail scams: “You” claim to need help getting out of jail. Virtual kidnapping scams: “You” claim that you’ve been kidnapped, and your kidnappers have threatened to hurt you if a ransom isn’t paid. Social media makes grabbing video and audio samples much easier these days, so don’t assume you or someone you know couldn’t be picked as bait. Even those who stay off social media sites can still be used as fodder for scams—can you guarantee that people you know haven’t taken video with you in it and posted it online? On the flip side, if you are on social media and have shared a lot about yourself, consider going one step further. Make your family or friends not just ask for your random password, but for you (or “you”) to tell them something only the two of you know. With this strategy, you and your associates win regardless. Either the scammer gives up, or you share a laugh while major stuff is going down. Read...

ChatGPT is rapidly changing the world. The process is already happening, and it’s only going to accelerate as the technology improves, as more people gain access to it, and as more learn how to use it. What’s shocking is just how many tasks ChatGPT is already capable of managing for you. While the naysayers may still look down their noses at the potential of AI assistants, I’ve been using it to handle all kinds of menial tasks for me. Here are my favorite examples. Further reading: This tiny ChatGPT feature helps me tackle my days more productively Write your emails for you Dave Parrack / Foundry We’ve all been faced with the tricky task of writing an email—whether personal or professional—but not knowing quite how to word it. ChatGPT can do the heavy lifting for you, penning the (hopefully) perfect email based on whatever information you feed it. Let’s assume the email you need to write is of a professional nature, and wording it poorly could negatively affect your career. By directing ChatGPT to write the email with a particular structure, content, and tone of voice, you can give yourself a huge head start. A winning tip for this is to never accept ChatGPT’s first attempt. Always read through it and look for areas of improvement, then request tweaks to ensure you get the best possible email. You can (and should) also rewrite the email in your own voice. Learn more about how ChatGPT coached my colleague to write better emails. Generate itineraries and schedules Dave Parrack / Foundry If you’re going on a trip but you’re the type of person who hates planning trips, then you should utilize ChatGPT’s ability to generate trip itineraries. The results can be customized to the nth degree depending on how much detail and instruction you’re willing to provide. As someone who likes to get away at least once a year but also wants to make the most of every trip, leaning on ChatGPT for an itinerary is essential for me. I’ll provide the location and the kinds of things I want to see and do, then let it handle the rest. Instead of spending days researching everything myself, ChatGPT does 80 percent of it for me. As with all of these tasks, you don’t need to accept ChatGPT’s first effort. Use different prompts to force the AI chatbot to shape the itinerary closer to what you want. You’d be surprised at how many cool ideas you’ll encounter this way—simply nix the ones you don’t like. Break down difficult concepts Dave Parrack / Foundry One of the best tasks to assign to ChatGPT is the explanation of difficult concepts. Ask ChatGPT to explain any concept you can think of and it will deliver more often than not. You can tailor the level of explanation you need, and even have it include visual elements. Let’s say, for example, that a higher-up at work regularly lectures everyone about the importance of networking. But maybe they never go into detail about what they mean, just constantly pushing the why without explaining the what. Well, just ask ChatGPT to explain networking! Okay, most of us know what “networking” is and the concept isn’t very hard to grasp. But you can do this with anything. Ask ChatGPT to explain augmented reality, multi-threaded processing, blockchain, large language models, what have you. It will provide you with a clear and simple breakdown, maybe even with analogies and images. Analyze and make tough decisions Dave Parrack / Foundry We all face tough decisions every so often. The next time you find yourself wrestling with a particularly tough one—and you just can’t decide one way or the other—try asking ChatGPT for guidance and advice. It may sound strange to trust any kind of decision to artificial intelligence, let alone an important one that has you stumped, but doing so actually makes a lot of sense. While human judgment can be clouded by emotions, AI can set that aside and prioritize logic. It should go without saying: you don’t have to accept ChatGPT’s answers. Use the AI to weigh the pros and cons, to help you understand what’s most important to you, and to suggest a direction. Who knows? If you find yourself not liking the answer given, that in itself might clarify what you actually want—and the right answer for you. This is the kind of stuff ChatGPT can do to improve your life. Plan complex projects and strategies Dave Parrack / Foundry Most jobs come with some level of project planning and management. Even I, as a freelance writer, need to plan tasks to get projects completed on time. And that’s where ChatGPT can prove invaluable, breaking projects up into smaller, more manageable parts. ChatGPT needs to know the nature of the project, the end goal, any constraints you may have, and what you have done so far. With that information, it can then break the project up with a step-by-step plan, and break it down further into phases (if required). If ChatGPT doesn’t initially split your project up in a way that suits you, try again. Change up the prompts and make the AI chatbot tune in to exactly what you’re looking for. It takes a bit of back and forth, but it can shorten your planning time from hours to mere minutes. Compile research notes Dave Parrack / Foundry If you need to research a given topic of interest, ChatGPT can save you the hassle of compiling that research. For example, ahead of a trip to Croatia, I wanted to know more about the Croatian War of Independence, so I asked ChatGPT to provide me with a brief summary of the conflict with bullet points to help me understand how it happened. After absorbing all that information, I asked ChatGPT to add a timeline of the major events, further helping me to understand how the conflict played out. ChatGPT then offered to provide me with battle maps and/or summaries, plus profiles of the main players. You can go even deeper with ChatGPT’s Deep Research feature, which is now available to free users, up to 5 Deep Research tasks per month. With Deep Research, ChatGPT conducts multi-step research to generate comprehensive reports (with citations!) based on large amounts of information across the internet. A Deep Research task can take up to 30 minutes to complete, but it’ll save you hours or even days. Summarize articles, meetings, and more Dave Parrack / Foundry There are only so many hours in the day, yet so many new articles published on the web day in and day out. When you come across extra-long reads, it can be helpful to run them through ChatGPT for a quick summary. Then, if the summary is lacking in any way, you can go back and plow through the article proper. As an example, I ran one of my own PCWorld articles (where I compared Bluesky and Threads as alternatives to X) through ChatGPT, which provided a brief summary of my points and broke down the best X alternative based on my reasons given. Interestingly, it also pulled elements from other articles. (Hmph.) If you don’t want that, you can tell ChatGPT to limit its summary to the contents of the link. This is a great trick to use for other long-form, text-heavy content that you just don’t have the time to crunch through. Think transcripts for interviews, lectures, videos, and Zoom meetings. The only caveat is to never share private details with ChatGPT, like company-specific data that’s protected by NDAs and the like. Create Q&A flashcards for learning Dave Parrack / Foundry Flashcards can be extremely useful for drilling a lot of information into your brain, such as when studying for an exam, onboarding in a new role, prepping for an interview, etc. And with ChatGPT, you no longer have to painstakingly create those flashcards yourself. All you have to do is tell the AI the details of what you’re studying. You can specify the format (such as Q&A or multiple choice), as well as various other elements. You can also choose to keep things broad or target specific sub-topics or concepts you want to focus on. You can even upload your own notes for ChatGPT to reference. You can also use Google’s NotebookLM app in a similar way. Provide interview practice Dave Parrack / Foundry Whether you’re a first-time jobseeker or have plenty of experience under your belt, it’s always a good idea to practice for your interviews when making career moves. Years ago, you might’ve had to ask a friend or family member to act as your mock interviewer. These days, ChatGPT can do it for you—and do it more effectively. Inform ChatGPT of the job title, industry, and level of position you’re interviewing for, what kind of interview it’ll be (e.g., screener, technical assessment, group/panel, one-on-one with CEO), and anything else you want it to take into consideration. ChatGPT will then conduct a mock interview with you, providing feedback along the way. When I tried this out myself, I was shocked by how capable ChatGPT can be at pretending to be a human in this context. And the feedback it provides for each answer you give is invaluable for knocking off your rough edges and improving your chances of success when you’re interviewed by a real hiring manager. Further reading: No, don’t threaten ChatGPT for better results. Try this instead Read...

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In a recent article, The Wall Street Journal drew attention to the fact that Pope Leo XIV considers artificial intelligence to be a threat to humanity. In a recent speech to a group of cardinals, the newly appointed pope noted that recent developments in the field of AI are a challenge to “human dignity, justice, and labor.” The Vatican wants the world’s countries to agree on a binding treaty that limits AI development, a direction that the tech giants of Silicon Valley absolutely don’t want happening—for obvious reasons. This week, representatives of Anthropic, Cohere, Google, IBM, Meta, Microsoft, and Palantir will be travelling to Rome to persuade the Catholic Church to embrace the new technology. Read...

In this digital age, sharing and editing videos can be challenging with format limitations and slow processing times. So, whether you’re a content creator, marketer, or video editor, converting, editing, and enhancing video files while maintaining high quality is essential. That’s where HitPaw Univd comes into play. This advanced AI video converter provides high-speed performance, an intuitive interface, and compatibility with numerous formats. Want to know more? Let’s explore the core features of HitPaw Univd for Mac and Windows, how to use it, and a few use cases. HitPaw What is HitPaw Univd? HitPaw Univd (previously HitPaw Video Converter) is a robust video converter, compressor, and editor that uses advanced AI technology to deliver exceptional results in just a few clicks. Designed for both novices and professionals, its primary goal is to provide a seamless and quick way to handle multimedia content without compromising quality. Known for its fast conversion speed, this is a worth-considering tool for YouTubers, filmmakers, or anyone dealing with multimedia files. Interface The interface of HitPaw Univd is designed with simplicity in mind. It is incredibly user-friendly, offering a drag-and-drop workflow that makes it easy for beginners. Also, there are no other complicated settings, just easy-to-understand tools, and options on the main screen. So, users without technical skills can also easily navigate the software’s features and get the job done. Formats and System Support One of the standout features of this video compressor and converter is its extensive support for different formats and operating systems. Whether you’re dealing with video, audio, images, or even documents, HitPaw Univd ensures seamless compatibility. SupportWindowsMacOnlineOperating SystemWindows 11/10/8/7 64-bitmacOS 10.13 and aboveAccessible via a browser, i.e., ChromeFormats1000+ formats, including MP4, MOV, MPG, MKV, DAT, TS, MP3, WMA, AIFF, WAV, FLAC, etc.20+ formats, including MP4, VOB, WEBM, ASF, MXF, OGV, MP3, WV, M4A, and OGG Top Features Here are some of the features of HitPaw Univd that make it appeal for multimedia conversion: 1. Ultrafast File Conversion: HitPaw Univd offers lightning-speed processing up to 120X faster than traditional converters. Whether you’re dealing with large video files or tight deadlines, it ensures instant conversions without compromising quality. 2. Versatile Media Formats Support: Its impressive compatibility with a wide range of audio, video, image, and document formats ensures smooth conversions of various file types, making it a secure choice for everyday conversion. 3. High-Quality Lossless Conversion: When changing file formats, this AI-powered software preserves original integrity with zero quality loss, making it valuable for creating high-quality videos for YouTube or preparing media for a professional project. Other AI Features HitPaw Univd is not just a video converter; its AI-powered features elevate it to the next level. Let’s dive into the details of each one: AI Video Enhancer This feature uses artificial intelligence to enhance video quality, providing clearer and sharper visuals without manual intervention. Whether you’re working with low-resolution footage, need to sharpen facial features, remove general noise, restore older content, or optimize new footage, this tool does the job efficiently. HitPaw Video Compressor The AI Video Compressor reduces the size of large video files to the highest quality without a watermark or size limit. Thus, it makes the videos easier to store, share, or upload on social platforms. It can simultaneously shrink multiple video’ sizes at a super-fast speed. AI Video Editor This tool helps users easily trim, cut, merge, crop, rotate, add a watermark, change video speed, and refine video footage. It supports various editing tasks, including transitions, effects, color correction, and stabilization, making it the perfect tool for both beginners and experienced editors. HitPaw Vocal Remover HitPaw Univd’s Vocal Remover separates vocals and background music from video or audio tracks without affecting the quality of the music. The AI analyses the track and intelligently filters out vocals, making it ideal for even novices to create karaoke tracks, remixes, or instrumental versions of songs. Audio Enhancer The Audio Enhancer by HitPaw Univd boosts audio quality by eliminating unwanted background noise and enhancing clarity. Whether you’re working with podcasts, voiceovers, or music tracks, this feature ensures your audio sounds professional by automatically adjusting volume levels, reducing distortion, and fine-tuning the sound. How to Convert Video Using HitPaw Univd Here is a step-by-step guide to converting videos using HitPaw Univd: Step 1. Add Video The first step is to download and complete the installation of this software. Now, launch it and open the “Converter” section. Click “Add Files”> “Add Video” to import the required video file. HitPaw Step 2. Choose the Output Format Next, expand the “Convert all to” drop-down menu and select the output format from different categories. Tap the pen to adjust the preferences and the quality. HitPaw Step 3. Start Conversion It’s time to enable the ultrafast conversion mode and choose the destination folder. Then, press the “Convert” button and wait until the conversion is done. You can check the “Converted” section for the output. That’s it! HitPaw User Feedback After learning about HitPaw Univd’s features and working in detail, let’s look at a selection of user feedback: Capterra: 4.8/5 I recently tested this video converter and am more than impressed with what I got. It is a widely usable tool, and I found no complications. Converting my videos, music, and images for any preferred format was a walk in the park. The quality of the converted files turned out to be excellent. Great customer supportJoshua R. (Capterra) Software Advice: 4.8/5 The selection of different devices is particularly ingenious if you don’t know very well which format is preferred for which device. This makes working with the program very easy, and you can better familiarise yourself with the problems of the different file formatsChristian (Software Advice) Pricing and Plans HitPaw Univd offers flexible pricing plans to suit different needs. A free trial with limited features is available, but here are the details of various pricing plans for the full version: PlansDurationWindows & MacDevicesIndividualsMonthly$19.951 DeviceYearly$39.95Perpetual$79.95TeamAnnual$119.955 Devices$259.9510 Devices$999.95100 DevicesBusinessAnnualContact Us FAQ 1. Is HitPaw Univd free? Yes, HitPaw Univd offers a free trial version with limited features. To unlock all functionalities, you need to purchase a subscription. 2. Can I use HitPaw Univd on Mac? Of course, HitPaw Univd for Mac offers the same features as the Windows version and can be installed easily on macOS devices. 3. Is HitPaw Univd worth it? HitPaw Univd is worth using for anyone who needs a fast, reliable, and user-friendly video converter. Its AI-powered features and extensive format support make it a top choice for everyone. Conclusion HitPaw Univd is an attractive video converter, compressor, and editor because of its 120X faster conversion speed, AI-powered tools, and compatibility with various formats. Whether you are using HitPaw Univd for Mac or Windows to handle multimedia content, this advanced software delivers performance and value for money. So, try it today and streamline your video editing workflow without sacrificing quality. Read...

Planning a trip takes time and often its more of a hassle than you’d like. If you don’t feel like spending hours researching, you can simply outsource the first draft of your holiday plans to ChatGPT. The chatbot suggests travel destinations, creates daily plans, compares means of transport, reminds you of charging devices, and even virtually packs your suitcase. But how reliable are these suggestions? And can it actually save you money? We’ll show you what ChatGPT excels at in vacation planning — and warn you of pitfalls where it stumbles. Let’s dig in. Further reading: 9 menial tasks ChatGPT can handle in seconds, saving you hours Find travel ideas If you don’t have any concrete plans yet, ChatGPT is an excellent starting point for finding ideas. Start with a few wishes or questions such as: I would like to travel with two friends for 5 days in September, budget maximum 300 dollars per person, like nature and hiking, but also a small city to stroll around. Which three European cities are cheap, family-friendly and under 400 dollars in autumn? I’m planning a 7-day round trip from Munich through South Tyrol, the Dolomites and Lake Garda with activities and accommodation. ChatGPT responds with a list of suitable destinations as well as information on travelling, accommodation costs, local activities and much more – depending on the initial question or prompt (command). When making hotel suggestions or flight connections, remember that the AI does not process real-time data. You have to check for yourself whether the specified bus connection still exists, a cheap flight is actually available, or the accommodation is out of budget in high season. In this aspect, the time saved by using ChatGPT is less than hoped for (at least if you want to accept the suggestions unfiltered). The AI can also provide you with links to the official hotel websites, but you have to make the bookings yourself. Personalized daily plans Once the destination is clear, ChatGPT helps with fine-tuning: sights, restaurant tips, or travel routes can be packed into a personalized day plan if desired. For example, if you write: “Plan 3 days in Porto with food, culture and a relaxed atmosphere”, you will receive an itinerary with breakfast places, tours, museums and sunset points. The more details you enter – such as type of traveller, preferences, restrictions or weather – the better the results. ChatGPT creates detailed day tours on request, taking into account personal preferences and priorities. Sam Singleton Another example prompt: “I am a woman travelling alone, want to spend 5 days in Lisbon, travel safely, eat vegetarian food, and visit local bookshops. Plan for me a relaxed itinerary with addresses.”. Even Plan B suggestions for bad weather or child-friendly variants are possible – just ask the AI. Road trips, stopovers, and routes To plan your route, enter the starting point, destination, duration and interests. ChatGPT generates suggestions for stages, places of interest, and possible activities based on this information. Example: “I would like to do a 7-day round trip by car in July, starting in Munich, through Austria and northern Italy, focusing on nature, thermal baths and small towns. Please include distances and recommendations for accommodation or campsites.” Information on tolls, border crossings, traffic and weather is also available, even if it’s not updated daily. You will still have to transfer the route manually to Google Maps or a sat nav app though. A little etiquette in language and culture Asking ChatGPT “How do you say ‘Hello” in Icelandic?” And “Do you tip in Portugal?” clarifies such questions in a matter of seconds. A quick AI crash course in language and etiquette is particularly useful for short trips. You can also check public holidays, festivals and school holidays so that you are optimally prepared. Example prompts: What public holidays and major festivals are there in Croatia in June? And what should I bear in mind when visiting restaurants? What should I know about eating habits and courtesies in Portugal? What traditional festivals take place in Andalusia in July? How do you greet someone in Icelandic? And how do you say thank you? How much is it customary to tip in Greek restaurants? A little tip: Ask specifically about taboos or faux pas typical of the country. In many countries, there are unwritten rules of behavior that tourists should be aware of before they unknowingly cause offence. Packing list including special tips Last but not least, ChatGPT also helps you pack your suitcase, at least virtually. With information on your destination, duration of the trip and planned activities, the AI creates packing lists including practical tips on power adapters, clothing, first-aid kit and weatherproof equipment. Example: “I’m flying to Thailand for 10 days, I’m mostly travelling outside and need a packing list for my rucksack including technology, clothing, and pharmacy.” ChatGPT also creates checklists for packing suitcases, tailored to the destination, duration and activities. Sam Singleton The result is impressive, but you have to add personal essentials yourself. ChatGPT doesn’t know that you can’t sleep at night without a sleep mask—not yet, at least. Advantages and disadvantages of ChatGPT for vacation planning A real added value of ChatGPT lies in the organization of individual travel ideas. The AI provides quick and flexible ideas that traditional booking sites often don’t offer. Especially those who are not planning a run-of-the-mill trip, but want to pay attention to personal preferences, travel type, or specific needs, will benefit from the variety of suggestions. ChatGPT is not suitable for flight connections nor current prices and availability. If you think you can save yourself the trouble of doing all the research, the opposite is often the case: you should always check prices, opening times or timetables separately, which takes additional time. Therefore, it’s best to use ChatGPT for inspiration, structure, and individualization. For anything that changes quickly, however, you still need to use a search engine or app. If you keep this in mind, you will save yourself frustration and still get plenty of original travel ideas. Related content: 5 ways I actually used ChatGPT this year to improve my life 9 menial tasks ChatGPT can handle in seconds, saving you hours 23 travel gadgets you need for your next trip Read...