Vivek Gupta
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Stories by Vivek Gupta
I used AI to understand my home insurance policy — found coverage I didn't know I had
Insurance policies are written to be unreadable. I'd owned my home for 4 years and never actually read mine — I just assumed I had standard coverage. After a tree branch fell through my neighbour's fence during a storm, I started wondering what my policy actually covered. I uploaded the PDF to Claude and had the most educational hour I've had in years. **What I asked:** - "Explain this policy in plain English, section by section" - "What are the top 5 things this policy does NOT cover that people often assume it does?" - "If a tree from my property falls on my neighbour's fence, am I covered?" **What I found out:** The tree question was interesting — it's a grey area that depends on whether I was negligent (knew the tree was dead/diseased and didn't act). My policy covers legal liability if negligence is proven, but not as a goodwill gesture. More importantly: I had "temporary accommodation" coverage I didn't know about — if my home is uninhabitable after an insured event, my policy covers up to $50,000 in hotel and living costs. I had no idea. I also found that my policy excluded flood from "rising water" but covered water damage from a burst pipe or storm. This is a critical distinction most people don't know. **What I did after:** Called my insurer and upgraded my contents coverage which was laughably low. Took 10 minutes and costs me $8 more a month. Read your policy. Use AI to help you understand it. It might be more useful than you think.
I've uploaded my home insurance policy. Please: 1) Explain it in plain English section by section, 2) Tell me the top 5 things it does NOT cover that people often assume it does, 3) Answer this specific scenario: [scenario]
Read full prompt →I planned a 2-week Japan trip entirely with AI — including a custom day-by-day itinerary
Japan had been on my list for 10 years. When I finally booked the flights, I had no idea where to start with planning — 14 days, two of us, Tokyo to Kyoto and beyond. I spent about 3 hours with Claude and came out with the most detailed travel itinerary I've ever had for any trip. **How I approached it:** First, I gave Claude our full context: travel dates, budget, interests (food, temples, not too many museums), fitness level (happy to walk 15-20k steps), and one firm requirement — we wanted to see Mt. Fuji. Then I asked it to draft a rough outline: which cities, how many nights each, and logical routing to avoid backtracking. It explained the JR Pass and helped me calculate whether it was worth buying (it was). Then we went city by city. For Tokyo, I told it our neighbourhood (Shinjuku) and asked for a day-by-day plan that grouped nearby attractions together. It even suggested what time to arrive at popular spots to beat crowds. **The food research:** I asked it to recommend specific restaurants in each city for different meal types — ramen, sushi, izakaya, conveyor belt — with the caveat that I'd verify on Google Maps before going. It gave me a shortlist I then cross-referenced with recent reviews. **The outcome:** We followed the itinerary about 80%. The other 20% we changed on the ground based on mood — which is exactly right. The AI gave us a framework, not a prison. Best trip of my life. Sakura season. 10/10.
We're planning 14 days in Japan in [month], two adults, budget of $X/day excluding flights. We love food and temples, dislike crowds. We must see Mt. Fuji. Please design a logical routing between cities with nights in each location.
Read full prompt →I wrote a full short story with Midjourney doing the illustrations — my kids love it
My daughter asked me to write her a story about a girl who befriends a cloud. I said yes without thinking, then panicked — I'm not a writer, and I'm definitely not an illustrator. Here's how I made a proper illustrated storybook in one weekend. **The writing (with Claude):** I told Claude the concept and asked it to help me write a 10-page children's story with simple sentences suitable for a 5-year-old. We went back and forth — I'd say "make this part funnier" or "the ending feels too easy, can we add a small challenge?" — until the story felt right. I wrote the final version myself using the AI draft as scaffolding. **The illustrations (with Midjourney):** For each scene, I wrote a prompt based on what was happening in that part of the story. Style: "watercolour children's book illustration, soft colours, whimsical." I learned quickly to keep the character description identical across prompts ("a girl with curly red hair and a yellow raincoat") so the character looked consistent. **The final product:** I used Canva to combine the text and images, printed it at a local print shop, and had it spiral-bound. Total cost: about $12. My daughter carries it to school to show her friends. She told her teacher "my dad made me a real book." That's a feeling no amount of money can buy.
Watercolour children's book illustration, [scene description], a girl with curly red hair and a yellow raincoat, soft pastel colours, whimsical, gentle lighting, storybook style --ar 4:3
Read full prompt →My 8-year-old now asks AI for help with homework — and it's made him a better learner
I was nervous about letting my son use AI for homework. Wouldn't he just copy the answers? After watching him use it for three months, I've changed my mind completely — but only because of how we set it up. **The rule we established:** He's not allowed to ask "what's the answer?" He can only ask "can you explain this to me?" and "can you give me a similar example to practice?" The first time he tried this with his maths homework (fractions), he came back to me genuinely excited because he finally understood why you flip the denominator when dividing. He'd asked Claude to explain it three different ways until one clicked. **What works well:** - Vocabulary homework: he asks for the word used in a sentence, then explains the meaning back to Claude to check his understanding - History projects: he uses it to brainstorm questions, then does his own research - Reading comprehension: he asks it to ask him questions about the chapter he just read (like a quiz) **What we avoid:** - Essay writing — he writes his own drafts always - Any "just tell me the answer" prompts The biggest surprise: his teacher noticed he's been asking better questions in class. Turns out practicing explaining things to AI has made him more articulate.
Can you explain [concept] to me in three different ways? Start simple. After each explanation, ask me a question to check if I understood.
Read full prompt →How I use Claude to turn messy meeting notes into action items in 60 seconds
Before I discovered AI, my meeting notes were a disaster — bullet points everywhere, no clear owners, and half the action items forgotten by the next morning. My workflow now is embarrassingly simple. Right after every meeting, I paste my raw notes into Claude with this prompt: **My prompt:** "Here are my raw meeting notes. Please extract: 1) All action items with the person responsible, 2) Key decisions made, 3) Open questions that need follow-up. Format it cleanly." The output is something I can immediately paste into Notion or email to the team. What used to take me 20 minutes of post-meeting work now takes under a minute. The real unlock was realising I didn't need perfect notes — Claude handles the mess. I now type faster and more freely during meetings knowing the cleanup happens automatically. I've started doing this for 1:1s too. Paste the notes, ask for a summary and any commitments made, and I have a clean record before the person has even left the room. **Time saved:** About 15-20 minutes per meeting. With 4-5 meetings a day, that's over an hour back in my day.
Here are my raw meeting notes. Please extract: 1) All action items with the person responsible, 2) Key decisions made, 3) Open questions that need follow-up. Format it cleanly.
Read full prompt →I used AI to explain divorce to my 6-year-old — and it actually helped
My husband and I are separating and I had no idea how to talk to our daughter about it. I asked Claude to help me find age-appropriate language for a 6-year-old and to anticipate the questions she might ask. It gave me a script I could adapt, and when the moment came I felt prepared instead of terrified.
I need to explain to my 6-year-old daughter that her parents are separating. Please help me find the right words — simple, honest, reassuring, and age-appropriate. Also give me a list of questions she might ask and how I could answer them in a way that doesn't confuse or scare her. The separation is amicable.
Read full prompt →How I used ChatGPT to negotiate my salary and got £8,000 more
I had a job offer on the table but had no idea if the salary was fair or how to push back without seeming difficult. I pasted the job description into ChatGPT and asked it to help me research market rates and craft a counter-offer email. The result was professional, confident, and specific — and it worked. They came back with £8,000 more than the original offer.
I have a job offer for [Role] at [Company] offering [Salary]. Based on my [X years] of experience in [skills], help me research whether this is competitive and write a polite but firm counter-offer email asking for [Target Salary]. I want to sound confident but not aggressive.
Read full prompt →I used Claude to understand my blood test results before seeing my doctor
My GP sent me blood test results with a load of abbreviations and numbers I didn't understand. Instead of panicking or waiting weeks for an appointment to explain it, I typed everything into Claude and asked it to explain each value in plain English. I went into my follow-up appointment actually knowing what questions to ask.
Here are my blood test results: [paste results]. Please explain each value in simple terms — what it measures, what my result means, and whether it's within a normal range. Flag anything I should specifically ask my doctor about. I am not looking for a diagnosis, just to understand what I'm looking at.
Read full prompt →How I built a full project proposal in 45 minutes using AI
A client asked for a proposal by end of day and I had nothing prepared. I used ChatGPT to structure the whole thing — scope, timeline, pricing rationale, and even the covering email. What normally takes me half a day was done in under an hour, and the client said it was one of the most professional proposals they'd received.
I need to write a project proposal for a client. The project is: [describe project]. My company does: [describe company]. Budget range is approximately [range]. Please create a professional proposal with: executive summary, project scope, deliverables, timeline, investment/pricing section, and next steps. Tone should be confident and clear.
Read full prompt →How I passed my driving theory test second time using AI flashcards
I failed my theory test first time because I tried to memorise everything from a thick book. Second time round I used ChatGPT to turn the entire highway code into Q&A flashcards and quiz me on the areas I kept getting wrong. Passed with 49/50.
Here is a section of the highway code: [paste section]. Please turn this into 10 multiple choice quiz questions with 4 options each. Mark the correct answer. Focus on the facts that are most commonly tested in the UK driving theory exam.
Read full prompt →I wrote and self-published a children's book in a weekend with AI
My daughter asked me to write her a story and I thought — why not actually publish it? I used ChatGPT to develop the plot and characters, Midjourney for the illustrations, and then Claude to help me format and write the back cover blurb. It's now on Amazon KDP and she takes it to school to show her friends.
I want to write a children's picture book for ages 4-6. The main character is a small, curious fox named Pip who is afraid of the dark. Please write a simple, warm story of around 500 words with a positive message about bravery. Use short sentences and vivid imagery suitable for illustrations. End on a hopeful note.
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