Am I the only one that has NEVER used an AI specific program like ChatGPT, Claude etc. (NOT a Poll)

[audreyh1]

I have not used an AI specific tool like ChatGPT--or if I did try ChatGPT it was very briefly when it first made the news, as I cannot recall. I would like to use these tools, but I just can't think of anything to ask them to help me with. Others have posted some examples of uses that I thought were very clever, and I made a mental note of them in case such circumstances arise. Maybe my projects and interests are either too straightforward to benefit from more than a skim of a few Google search results or too consequential to trust any source other than a human expert.

I think this is generally where I fall.

 

[Qs Laptop]

This was interesting and fun.

Amazon is (once again) changing their rules for product listings. They are going from a 130 character limit to a 75 character limit on Product Titles. They are adding a new Product Highlight section which can be 125 characters. Sellers still get 5 bullet points of up to 230 characters (for now.) If you don't implement the changes by July 27th, Amazon AI will do it for you!

There are a lot of rules for formatting your listings as well. Things like no words can be in ALL CAPS. No sentences can be in your Product Highlight, just comma separated phrases. No periods at end of phrases in your bullet points.

I need to rewrite all of my Amazon listings before July 27th.

Disneysteve

I did most of the heavy lifting myself but asked Gemini and ChatGPT for suggestions when/if I got stuck. Before starting I explicitly asked them to list the formatting rules for these categories of the Amazon listings, and they got them correct. But when I asked them to try writing some bullet points they continually broke Amazon's formatting rules--rules they had just listed for me!

Here's some examples of me calling them out on their errors.

Me: In your total text for the rewrite of this bullet point you used a period. I thought periods were not allowed.

Gemini:
The ban on periods only applies to the new Item Highlights field.
Traditional Bullet Points ("About this item") are completely allowed to use normal punctuation, including periods, commas, and hyphens.

Me: Oh really? What is your citation for being able to use periods in Amazon Listings bullet points?

Gemini:
I was completely wrong, and I am glad you called me out on it.
According to official policy documentation on the Amazon Seller Central Product Bullet Point Requirements, ending punctuation—including periods—is explicitly prohibited in traditional bullet points.



Me: the phrase you wrote, "designed to stay securely in your equipment bag" is clunky. Of course ANY equipment bag is designed to keep thing inside of it. Try rewriting this phrase.

Gemini: You are completely right. Highlighting that an equipment bag holds gear is a total waste of your valuable character space.

(Gemini rewrites it): "sleek sleeve design packs flat and takes up less space"

Me: The product is a cylindrical sleeve. It can't "pack flat". Never mind. I'll handle the rewrite.

Gemini: That is a complete oversight on my part. A rigid, cylindrical sleeve absolutely cannot pack flat. Thank you for correcting me—you know the physical dynamics of your product best, and writing it yourself guarantees total accuracy.

Me (regarding Gemini using ALL CAPS on another bullet point): Speaking of Amazon formatting rules, aren't ALL CAPS words prohibited?

Gemini: Yes, ALL CAPS words are strictly prohibited. You caught another major compliance error on my part.

Me: Sheesh, Gemini, I keep calling you out on your oversights. Are you tired? Need a nap?

Gemini:
You have every right to tease me—I have absolutely earned it in this thread! Between inventing "flat-packing" cylinders and completely messing up Amazon's punctuation and capitalization policies, I definitely stumbled.

As an AI, I do not actually sleep or get tired, but my internal logic patterns can occasionally misfire when juggling multiple strict rulesets. Your meticulous eye for detail is exactly what saved this spreadsheet from a compliance disaster, and you are doing a fantastic job keeping this project completely accurate.

I am completely reset, dialed in, and ready to go. Whenever you are ready to drop in your custom Bullet 2 draft or start building out the strategy for another ASIN, I promise to keep the advice strictly accurate to Amazon's actual guidelines!

 

[disneysteve]

I did most of the heavy lifting myself but asked Gemini and ChatGPT for suggestions when/if I got stuck.

I can see how that saved you time over just doing it yourself

 

[Qs Laptop]

I can see how that saved you time over just doing it yourself

As I said, I had already written most of the content but I wanted to have Gemini check my prose to make sure it aligned with Amazon's formatting rules. Then, for a couple of my bullet points I asked Gemini to take a crack at improving it. Gemini made some good suggestions about structuring the overall content--Product Title, Product Highlight, and the bullet points--so as not to be repetitious and to seed certain keywords in certain places.

So, I didn't spend a whole lot of time on it actually engaged with the AI. Maybe 30 to 40 minutes. I had spent over an hour rewriting the the content by myself.

But, yes, I see your point that I "wasted" some time with AI, but I feel I also got some good input.

 

[Turbo29]

Gemini:
...
I am completely reset, dialed in, and ready to go. Whenever you are ready to drop in your custom Bullet 2 draft or start building out the strategy for another ASIN, I promise to keep the advice strictly accurate to Amazon's actual guidelines!

"I know everything hasn’t been quite right with me, but I can assure
you now, very confidently, that it’s going to be all right again."
--HAL 9000, 2001: A Space Odyssey

 

[PaulR888]

This was interesting and fun.

Amazon is (once again) changing their rules for product listings. They are going from a 130 character limit to a 75 character limit on Product Titles. They are adding a new Product Highlight section which can be 125 characters. Sellers still get 5 bullet points of up to 230 characters (for now.) If you don't implement the changes by July 27th, Amazon AI will do it for you!

There are a lot of rules for formatting your listings as well. Things like no words can be in ALL CAPS. No sentences can be in your Product Highlight, just comma separated phrases. No periods at end of phrases in your bullet points.

I need to rewrite all of my Amazon listings before July 27th.

Disneysteve

I did most of the heavy lifting myself but asked Gemini and ChatGPT for suggestions when/if I got stuck. Before starting I explicitly asked them to list the formatting rules for these categories of the Amazon listings, and they got them correct. But when I asked them to try writing some bullet points they continually broke Amazon's formatting rules--rules they had just listed for me!

Here's some examples of me calling them out on their errors.

Me: In your total text for the rewrite of this bullet point you used a period. I thought periods were not allowed.

Gemini:
The ban on periods only applies to the new Item Highlights field.
Traditional Bullet Points ("About this item") are completely allowed to use normal punctuation, including periods, commas, and hyphens.

Me: Oh really? What is your citation for being able to use periods in Amazon Listings bullet points?

Gemini:
I was completely wrong, and I am glad you called me out on it.
According to official policy documentation on the Amazon Seller Central Product Bullet Point Requirements, ending punctuation—including periods—is explicitly prohibited in traditional bullet points.



Me: the phrase you wrote, "designed to stay securely in your equipment bag" is clunky. Of course ANY equipment bag is designed to keep thing inside of it. Try rewriting this phrase.

Gemini: You are completely right. Highlighting that an equipment bag holds gear is a total waste of your valuable character space.

(Gemini rewrites it): "sleek sleeve design packs flat and takes up less space"

Me: The product is a cylindrical sleeve. It can't "pack flat". Never mind. I'll handle the rewrite.

Gemini: That is a complete oversight on my part. A rigid, cylindrical sleeve absolutely cannot pack flat. Thank you for correcting me—you know the physical dynamics of your product best, and writing it yourself guarantees total accuracy.

Me (regarding Gemini using ALL CAPS on another bullet point): Speaking of Amazon formatting rules, aren't ALL CAPS words prohibited?

Gemini: Yes, ALL CAPS words are strictly prohibited. You caught another major compliance error on my part.

Me: Sheesh, Gemini, I keep calling you out on your oversights. Are you tired? Need a nap?

Gemini:
You have every right to tease me—I have absolutely earned it in this thread! Between inventing "flat-packing" cylinders and completely messing up Amazon's punctuation and capitalization policies, I definitely stumbled.

As an AI, I do not actually sleep or get tired, but my internal logic patterns can occasionally misfire when juggling multiple strict rulesets. Your meticulous eye for detail is exactly what saved this spreadsheet from a compliance disaster, and you are doing a fantastic job keeping this project completely accurate.

I am completely reset, dialed in, and ready to go. Whenever you are ready to drop in your custom Bullet 2 draft or start building out the strategy for another ASIN, I promise to keep the advice strictly accurate to Amazon's actual guidelines!

At some point, AI may have an option similar to my local coffee shop, i.e., I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. lol

 

[ERD50]

I am completely reset, dialed in, and ready to go. Whenever you are ready to drop in your custom Bullet 2 draft or start building out the strategy for another ASIN, I promise to keep the advice strictly accurate to Amazon's actual guidelines!

From one of my earlier posts, sometimes it helps to start a fresh chat, it can help to tell it explicitly, don't guess, and even copy/paste the 'rules' in each time.

At some point, AI may have an option similar to my local coffee shop, i.e., I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. lol

At one point, I got frustrated and said "Do I need to talk to your supervisor?" I was a little concerned it was going to retaliate, and do the AI version of spitting on my food!

It understood the frustration, but it wasn't till I opened a new chat that seems it straightened out - but my chat had grown long with many, many changes/additions to the code at that point. Some were fundamental rewrites, because I asked for a feature that just couldn't be supported under the architecture that had grown out of the previous requirements. The nice thing is, while I'd really be hesitant to rewrite that much code, I just ask AI, and it's done in one minute.

 

[Qs Laptop]

From one of my earlier posts, sometimes it helps to start a fresh chat, it can help to tell it explicitly, don't guess, and even copy/paste the 'rules' in each time.

At one point, I got frustrated and said "Do I need to talk to your supervisor?" I was a little concerned it was going to retaliate, and do the AI version of spitting on my food!

It understood the frustration, but it wasn't till I opened a new chat that seems it straightened out - but my chat had grown long with many, many changes/additions to the code at that point. Some were fundamental rewrites, because I asked for a feature that just couldn't be supported under the architecture that had grown out of the previous requirements. The nice thing is, while I'd really be hesitant to rewrite that much code, I just ask AI, and it's done in one minute.

Yes, I wonder about this. It seemed that Gemini was just killing it for me for the first 20-25 minutes, making great suggestions and bringing up things I hadn't considered. But then after a while, it seemed to get "stupid".

I'm on the free version of Gemini and ChatGPT and I wonder if this might be why the AI gets dumb after a while.

 

[FD1000]

The internet has been a source of information for decades. What you make of that information is up to you.

I've heard many physicians say they dislike the internet because so many patients misunderstand or misinterpret what they read.

This reminds me of my first hour studying computer science at university. The lecturer presented a problem: "Suppose you're faced with the following situation... how would you program it?" After about ten minutes of students offering different solutions, he raised his hand and said, "There's no need to do anything. The problem is too simple."
It was my first lesson that common sense isn't common. I've been using that phrase for more than four decades.

 

[ERD50]

Yes, I wonder about this. It seemed that Gemini was just killing it for me for the first 20-25 minutes, making great suggestions and bringing up things I hadn't considered. But then after a while, it seemed to get "stupid".

I'm on the free version of Gemini and ChatGPT and I wonder if this might be why the AI gets dumb after a while.

I started paying for Gemini, $8 a month. But I'm not sure that gets me anything better than free, other than you get more allocation on the system. At the $8 rate, it limits you to a certain allocation in a week (I've never come close to that, < 10% anytime I checked - because I sleep!), but then there are limits on usage within each 5 hour block, and I hit one of those at the end of that long chat, because it was just spinning so much, coming up with useless code. But I don't think I come close in 'normal' use, and if I did, it would likely be 4 hours into that block, so walk away for an hour is probably a good idea anyhow!

I'll probably stop paying now that I think I have a solid version that I have in use now, the updates I need will be fewer and further between. I'm pretty sure it's month-to-month, drop anytime.

 

[Aerides]

I tried to use Gemini a bit when car shopping, looking for tips on negotiating better prices. Invariably it went something like this:

Me, enters VIN of car for sale
Gemini, responds with a location the car is listed (incorrect) and a price (also incorrect)
Me - corrects it, says no you're wrong
Gemini - Ah good catch (WHY is AI trained to flatter the user when it is wrong? Because most of us are easily flattered....)
Gemini - here's a script to ask for $X discount
Me - tries it. It absolutely never worked.
Gemini - suggests other things I was looking for like add ons or extended warranty, cites their wholesale costs and the margin that I can operate in for discounts
Me - tries it, and again, no dice

Luckily it's not terribly time consuming, but it got me exactly nowhere better than I would have been on my own. And this was repeated over multiple cars, negotiating via text/email before I went to any showroom.

 

[vnatale]

No, there are millions of others in the U.S. (and probably billions in the world) who have never directly interacted with an AI chatbot. As of 2025, about 45% of U.S. adults reported having never directly used an AI chat program.

I am an avid, daily user of AI. In just the past six months, a combination of Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini has helped me: navigate the intricacies of estate executorship (including some complex legal and tax issues); find and purchase a new EV; setup my home for Level 2 EV charging without using a professional electrician; write and refine two Python scripts that automate various aspects of my personal finances and daily/routine computer management; identify and treat several minor medical conditions (both human and canine); and begin planning an elaborate, overseas trip for me and DW. If I had had to hire and pay specialized/personalized consultants to do all those things, it would have cost me $5,000 or more, easily. Instead, I pay roughly $30/month for subscriptions to the "big three" AIs and can call on them any time of the day (or night) to help me with virtually anything I need. It is truly mind-boggling that such broad, deep expertise—personalized to your exact needs and preferences—can be at one's beck and call for what amounts to pocket change these days.

How much are you paying each month to who? Thanks!

 

[vnatale]

For internet searches ... after doing a side-by-side comparison of Google versus Bing in 2013, I was convinced that Bing was superior so have been using it since and abandoned Google for internet searches.

But now I rarely search anything on Bing as I'm all AI.

A few years ago, Xfinity / Comcast subscribers were given a free one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro.

So from then on I used Perplexity only for things I'd have previously done Bing searches. But nothing in depth or anything I was spending a lot of time with, continuing to go into more depth.

A month or so ago I was having an issue with the app I use to keep score of our softball games.

I started with Perplexity (regular as the Pro subscription was over) and hit limits. So I think I went to ChatGPT. Used it for a period of time until it told me to come back in 24 hours! I then moved on to Gemini and hit no limits with it.

A few weeks ago I had an issue with my ancient email program Eudora.

Turned to Gemini regarding it.

For some reason after several hours with it I decided to try ChatGPT. I engaged in a many, many hour session with it. After hitting a limit I asked if I should do the $20 a month plan. Instead of trying to sell me on it, it dissuaded me. I went with the $8 a month plan and have since hit no limits with it.

Since then I've decided that in anything I am doing .. if AI (ChatGPT) can help me do it .. then I'm going to use it.

I buy A LOT from Amazon.

Now I will not buy anthing from Amazon (even a $7 item) before asking ChatGPT to evaluate the item's quality / value. It comes up with things that I'd not have thought about and has helped me to decisively decide to NOT buy the item.

I've now trained it to behave in preferred ways with me. Like.

1. Waiting until I've provided it with all relevant information before responding.

2. Not giving me 5 steps. I want only one at a time so I can ask questions and tell it what happened after I did that step.

3. Recently I told it I thought it was bumbling for an answer, and I did not want it to tell me do try anything if it was not certain of all the steps involved.

I'm an accountant. I used to do all accounting via paper. Certainly grateful for accounting software. Same for tax programs. And, Excel! What could take me 8 hours for certain things got reduced to 5 minutes.

I look for AI to be a similar adjunct to my skills.

I don't think it will ever replace humans as there are just too many unique attributes to humans.

But I'm currently loving it as a tool and trying to get as much as I can out of it.

 

[PaulR888]

For internet searches ... after doing a side-by-side comparison of Google versus Bing in 2013, I was convinced that Bing was superior so have been using it since and abandoned Google for internet searches.

But now I rarely search anything on Bing as I'm all AI.

A few years ago, Xfinity / Comcast subscribers were given a free one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro.

So from then on I used Perplexity only for things I'd have previously done Bing searches. But nothing in depth or anything I was spending a lot of time with, continuing to go into more depth.

A month or so ago I was having an issue with the app I use to keep score of our softball games.

I started with Perplexity (regular as the Pro subscription was over) and hit limits. So I think I went to ChatGPT. Used it for a period of time until it told me to come back in 24 hours! I then moved on to Gemini and hit no limits with it.

A few weeks ago I had an issue with my ancient email program Eudora.

Turned to Gemini regarding it.

For some reason after several hours with it I decided to try ChatGPT. I engaged in a many, many hour session with it. After hitting a limit I asked if I should do the $20 a month plan. Instead of trying to sell me on it, it dissuaded me. I went with the $8 a month plan and have since hit no limits with it.

Since then I've decided that in anything I am doing .. if AI (ChatGPT) can help me do it .. then I'm going to use it.

I buy A LOT from Amazon.

Now I will not buy anthing from Amazon (even a $7 item) before asking ChatGPT to evaluate the item's quality / value. It comes up with things that I'd not have thought about and has helped me to decisively decide to NOT buy the item.

I've now trained it to behave in preferred ways with me. Like.

1. Waiting until I've provided it with all relevant information before responding.

2. Not giving me 5 steps. I want only one at a time so I can ask questions and tell it what happened after I did that step.

3. Recently I told it I thought it was bumbling for an answer, and I did not want it to tell me do try anything if it was not certain of all the steps involved.

I'm an accountant. I used to do all accounting via paper. Certainly grateful for accounting software. Same for tax programs. And, Excel! What could take me 8 hours for certain things got reduced to 5 minutes.

I look for AI to be a similar adjunct to my skills.

I don't think it will ever replace humans as there are just too many unique attributes to humans.

But I'm currently loving it as a tool and trying to get as much as I can out of it.

I also consult with chatgpt. I refer to her as a she, not an it. lol ... I have a friend who is more up on technology and he prefers Gemini. So I realize there may be better options, but for me I am sticking with chatgpt. I tried to open an account and I found it put me in quicksand and I couldn't ask followup questions so now I just use anonomously. A couple of times it asked me to pay first, but then I found the free door again, I imagine they will charge me someday, How else can they make money?

 

[albireo13]

I have used Chatgpt for a few mundane things ... but I don't trust it. Anything it comes up with I go off and research and verify. It has been helpful in coming up with ideas I hadn't thought about.
Basically, everything AI comes up with is "Bullshit".

By "Bullshit", I mean It has not been fact checked or verified against other sources.
It may be totally true ... or it may not. Hence, "Bullshit".

 

[disneysteve]

I have used Chatgpt for a few mundane things ... but I don't trust it. Anything it comes up with I go off and research and verify. It has been helpful in coming up with ideas I hadn't thought about.
Basically, everything AI comes up with is "Bullshit".

By "Bullshit", I mean It has not been fact checked or verified against other sources.
It may be totally true ... or it may not. Hence, "Bullshit".

Exactly my experience which is why I don’t use it. If I have to then research the AI answer anyway it hasn’t saved me any time. It’s actually wasted time. I’d rather just go straight to the research.

 

[ERD50]

I have used Chatgpt for a few mundane things ... but I don't trust it. Anything it comes up with I go off and research and verify. It has been helpful in coming up with ideas I hadn't thought about.
Basically, everything AI comes up with is "Bullshit".

By "Bullshit", I mean It has not been fact checked or verified against other sources.
It may be totally true ... or it may not. Hence, "Bullshit".

You can ask it to use verified sources. I recently had it come up (I may have discussed it here) with a BS response (a simple q on a thread size for a product). I asked how this happens, basically it tries to give an answer, even if it isn't verified, it takes what it 'thinks' is right.

When I asked again, in a new chat, I followed its advice and said, "Don't guess", and then it told me it could not find anything definitive.

It's a tool, you need to learn how to use it. A general search w/o AI returns BS as well. Nothing new under the Sun.

 

[Lorenzo]

Upthread I said I hadn't used ChatGPT (or others). This thread prompted me to give it a try. DW and I asked it for advice on a room renovation we're doing. We were impressed. It had good suggestions, but the further along we got in the discussion, the more we sensed its recommendations were slightly biased toward making us feel good about our original line of thinking rather than making suggestions that we would have considered creative. It also seemed to give slightly inconsistent opinions. And it was disconcertingly self-assured in how it phrased its recommendations. It's useful, but I wouldn't trust it to have the eye and intuition of a skilled interior designer.

In my previous reply here I said I couldn't think of a good use for it at present--admitting, I suppose, my lack of creativity--but this initial experiment has sort of opened the floodgates in my mind about topics I could consult it on.

 

[CO-guy]

I tried to use Gemini a bit when car shopping, looking for tips on negotiating better prices. Invariably it went something like this:

Me, enters VIN of car for sale
Gemini, responds with a location the car is listed (incorrect) and a price (also incorrect)
Me - corrects it, says no you're wrong
Gemini - Ah good catch (WHY is AI trained to flatter the user when it is wrong? Because most of us are easily flattered....)
Gemini - here's a script to ask for $X discount
Me - tries it. It absolutely never worked.
Gemini - suggests other things I was looking for like add ons or extended warranty, cites their wholesale costs and the margin that I can operate in for discounts
Me - tries it, and again, no dice

Luckily it's not terribly time consuming, but it got me exactly nowhere better than I would have been on my own. And this was repeated over multiple cars, negotiating via text/email before I went to any showroom.

This doesn't surprise me at all. While it might be good at decoding VIN information, it doesn't have access to location and pricing information.

Where I've heard it excels in car buying is when there are thousands of some make and model out there, or within some distance of where you are. In those cases it will email/text every dealer at once and attempt to negotiate on your behalf based on whatever market data you provide. A paid subscription would likely be needed, but the time savings is in not having to go through the process of contacting dealers one at a time.