I want to be upfront about something: six months ago, I thought AI was for developers and people who owned too many hoodies. I didn’t think it was for me — a mum trying to keep the plates spinning while also, quietly, figuring out who she is beyond the school run.

Then I started using it. Tentatively at first, mostly out of curiosity. And now? I use it every single day. Not in a “replacing my brain” way. More like having a really switched-on friend who’s always available and never makes you feel stupid for asking.

Here are five things I actually use AI for, on a normal mum day.

1. Sorting dinner when my brain is empty

It’s 4pm. I’m tired. The kids are about to be feral. I have half a bag of pasta, some wilting spinach, a tin of tomatoes and absolutely zero inspiration. I used to stand in front of the fridge for ten minutes doing nothing.

Now I type: “I have pasta, spinach, tinned tomatoes, garlic and a block of feta. What can I make in 20 minutes that a picky 7-year-old will eat?”

Done. Three options, with quantities. Game changer.

2. Writing emails I’ve been avoiding

You know the emails that sit in your drafts for three days because you can’t quite figure out how to phrase something without sounding either too aggressive or too much like a pushover? I have those constantly.

I tell AI what I want to say, what tone I’m going for, and who it’s going to. It drafts it. I tweak it so it sounds like me. Send. Done. That email to the school about the trip refund that I’d been sitting on for two weeks? Sent in five minutes.

3. Thinking through decisions I can’t get out of my head

I’m the kind of person who loops on decisions. Should I take that freelance project? Is this nursery the right one? Do I actually need a new winter coat or am I just tired?

Talking it out with AI — just typing out the situation like I’m explaining it to someone — helps me hear my own thinking more clearly. It asks questions back. It helps me see what I actually want. It’s not therapy. But sometimes it’s the next best thing at 10pm.

4. Planning the week before it gets away from me

Sunday evenings I do a quick brain dump — what’s on this week, what I’m dreading, what I keep forgetting to do. I paste it into AI and ask it to help me organise it into a realistic plan.

The key word is realistic. I tell it I have school pick-ups at 3pm, I work part-time, and I need some breathing room or I burn out. It works around that. No unrealistic 5am productivity routines. Just a sensible plan for a normal human.

5. Researching things without falling down a rabbit hole

I needed to understand ISAs last month. I could have Googled it and spent 45 minutes reading twelve different articles, half of which were trying to sell me something. Instead I asked AI to explain it to me like I was reasonably intelligent but had no financial background. It did, in about three paragraphs. I followed up with questions. Twenty minutes later I actually understood what I was doing.

Same for health questions, holiday planning, understanding a bill I didn’t recognise, figuring out what to look for in a second-hand car. It’s like having a patient, knowledgeable friend on call 24/7.

None of this requires any tech knowledge. You just need to know what you want help with — and be willing to type it out like you’re texting a smart friend.

If you want some actual prompts to copy and paste — ones I use myself — grab the free guide. It’s a good place to start.