What People Do With AI Sample issue · November 1, 2026 Welcome to What People Do With AI Glad you’re here. This is a place to discover how people are using AI in their everyday lives, find something you’d like to try yourself, and get inspiration for your own ideas as we all learn how to better leverage these tools. This week a child’s stuffed bear becomes a video game hero, family trees are brought to life, and a dinner reservation gets a little earlier. Each story comes with a starting prompt so you can make it your own. Published: 2026-11-02T18:36:18.048163+00:00 Content updated: 2026-11-02T17:33:46Z Public articles and issues. Use the clean Markdown or plain-text links, or copy the full text for your agent. A stuffed bear becomes the hero Example creator: Chris Harihar Named tools: Claude, Claude Artifacts Original source: https://x.com/ChrisHarihar/status/2111504147111379398 Original source published: 2026-10-17 In a video game Chris Harihar made with Claude (https://x.com/ChrisHarihar/status/2111504147111379398), his child’s stuffed animals became characters playing in a world based off their apartment with his child’s artwork to collect. A child’s imagination is brought to life in a game played during time shared on a bus. Your version could start with a drawing, an invented character or an inside joke amongst friends. Claude Artifacts (https://support.claude.com/en/articles/17153992-what-are-artifacts-and-how-do-i-use-them) makes this easy to try: Claude writes the code and opens a playable version beside your chat, without you touching coding tools. Start with one character, one goal and one obstacle. Then play a round and ask for changes like “make the bear jump higher” or “add a hidden treasure.” You can build and improve the game in the same conversation. Starter prompt Build a small browser game starring [character] in [setting]. To win, the player must [goal] while avoiding [obstacle]. Use simple placeholder artwork and controls that are easy to use on a phone. Show me how to play the first version. Discover the story in your family tree Example creator: Scott Melker Named tools: Grok Bot, ChatGPT, ChatGPT Deep Research Original source: https://x.com/scottmelker/status/2115220656740577553 Original source published: 2026-10-27 Yearbooks, gravestone photographs, birth and naturalization records: those are among the finds Scott Melker described after researching his family history with Grok Bot and ChatGPT (https://x.com/scottmelker/status/2115220656740577553) on October 27. Start in ChatGPT Deep Research (https://help.openai.com/en/articles/10500283-deep-research-in-chatgpt) with a name, approximate date and town. Deep Research can work through multiple websites and your uploaded documents, then pull the findings into a report with source links. That gives you a trail back to the records behind each family connection. Add an old document or link to an archive, and ask one specific question. Once you have a few discoveries, turn them into a short illustrated family history: a simple tree, a timeline, photographs and three interesting stories, with links to the records. Save it as a PDF and share it by email or in the family group chat. Invite relatives to add corrections, memories and photos of their own. Starter prompt Turn this research into a short illustrated family history for my relatives. Include a simple family tree, a timeline and three interesting stories, with links to the records behind them. Mark uncertain connections and leave out private details about living relatives. Format it so I can save it as a PDF. Get the earlier dinner without refreshing all day Example creator: Matt Palmer Named tools: Grok Bot, Muse, Duet, Dots Original source: https://x.com/mattyp/status/2116516547007308125 Original source published: 2026-10-31 A 9:15 p.m. dinner reservation isn’t much use if you need to eat at six. Grok Bot builder Matt Palmer shared an exchange (https://x.com/mattyp/status/2116516547007308125) in which the agent found a 5:45 p.m. opening, asked for his approval and then reported moving his reservation. Palmer had asked it to watch for cancellations at a San Francisco bathhouse and restaurant. Have your agent consistently monitor the webpage rather than check on your phone all day, then get your attention when there’s a possibility worth acting upon. Use Grok Bot, as Palmer did, or another agent like Muse, Duet, or Dots. Ask your agent to open the booking site, check availability and arrange repeat checks and alerts while you’re away. Ask it to watch for a cheaper flight, a better seat on a trip you’ve booked, or tickets to a sold out movie showing, then alert you when something opens up. Starter prompt Watch [venue] for a table for [number] on [date], between [times]. Confirm you can keep checking, then alert me when a match appears. Don’t book, pay or change a reservation without my approval. Turn your bookings into a trip companion Example creator: Panos Tsamoudakis Named tools: Claude, Claude Projects Original source: https://www.tsamoudakis.com/how-i-planned-a-family-trip-with-claude/ Original source published: 2026-07-15 Panos Tsamoudakis turned booking PDFs and family wish lists into an itinerary with Claude (https://www.tsamoudakis.com/how-i-planned-a-family-trip-with-claude/). He says his family used the resulting web page file throughout a nine day New York trip. His July project brought scattered confirmations and conversations into one place everyone could use. Start with a Claude Project (https://support.claude.com/en/articles/9519177-how-can-i-create-and-manage-projects), and add your booking files and wish list to its project knowledge. Claude can use those files across chats in that project, so you can plan a museum day or change a dinner without uploading the same confirmations again. Ask Claude to turn the agreed plan into a page that’s easy to read on your phone. Starter prompt Organize these plans for [destination/dates] into an itinerary I can read on my phone. Group nearby activities, preserve fixed bookings and leave room for breaks. Flag scheduling conflicts before creating the final version. New this week: October 26–November 1 Edit the actual file in Gemini. The October 29 update lets you generate and edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations and PDFs inside the conversation. Make changes yourself or highlight a section for Gemini to revise. Available to all Gemini users: PDFs on web and mobile, other supported formats on web. See the update (https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-app/edit-files-directly/) Turn a free textbook into a study companion. Gemini Notebook’s October 29 update adds hundreds of textbooks from providers including OpenStax. Choose Add sources → Textbooks, then ask questions, build practice quizzes or create a study guide from the book. The new free catalog gives you material to learn from without hunting down a PDF first. Explore the catalog (https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/new-access-textbooks/) Catch subscription creep with Grok Bot. Its October 27 update adds templates for watching renewal prices and finding unused subscriptions. Start with “List my renewals and prices; don’t cancel anything.” Give it access to the relevant subscription information, then choose what to keep. Explore the templates (https://x.ai/changelog/bot) Text your dot while you’re out. OpenAI’s October 28 rollout lets eligible U.S. Pro users message their dot through iMessage or RCS, with its existing memory and connected tools. Enable the beta in your dot’s profile and send your next research request while it’s on your mind. Get started (https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes)