Summer means more plans and less time to make them: trips, camps, cookouts, long drives. Here is one genuinely useful feature from each of the four big tools, with the official steps and an honest note on when it actually helps. And a real thank-you to everyone who subscribed recently. I am glad you are here, and if there is something you want me to cover, tell me.

Claude: keep a whole trip in one Project

Planning a trip or a summer of camps means the details pile up fast. A Project gives Claude one place to hold them, so you stop re-explaining yourself in every chat. Free accounts can keep up to five.

  1. Go to claude.ai/projects, or click Projects on the left side.
  2. Click + New Project and give it a name like “Cape Cod week.”
  3. Add your details to the project knowledge: dates, budget, who is coming, the rental address, the must-do list.
  4. Start chatting inside the project. Claude uses everything you added, in every chat, without you pasting it again.

When to reach for it: when a plan has a lot of moving parts you will come back to over days or weeks. It keeps the context in one place so you are not starting from scratch each time.

Source: Anthropic Help Center

ChatGPT: talk to it on the drive

Some of summer’s planning happens when your hands are full: driving to the lake, prepping dinner, keeping an eye on the kids. Voice mode lets you just talk to ChatGPT and hear it answer.

  1. Open the ChatGPT app on your phone, or ChatGPT.com on a computer. You need to be signed in.
  2. Tap the voice icon in the bottom right. The first time, you will pick a voice.
  3. Talk normally. Ask it to plan a rest-stop route, suggest road-trip games, or build a packing list out loud.
  4. Tap the exit icon to end. The conversation saves to your chat history so you can find it later.

When to reach for it: when your hands or eyes are busy and typing is a pain. It is available to anyone signed in, on the app and the web. It needs microphone permission, and it can still get things wrong, so check anything that matters.

Source: OpenAI Help Center

Copilot: make a party invite from a sentence

Hosting a cookout or a kid’s birthday? You can describe the invitation you want and have Copilot draw it, no design skills needed. This is the free consumer Copilot, not the paid Microsoft 365 version.

  1. Go to copilot.microsoft.com or open the Copilot app, and sign in with a free Microsoft account.
  2. In the message box, describe the image you want. The more specific you are, the better.
  3. Try: “Create a bright, playful invitation for a backyard BBQ, string lights and lemonade, with space at the bottom for text.”
  4. Give it a minute or two, then save the version you like and add the real date and details yourself.

When to reach for it: for quick, casual visuals like invites, flyers, or a fun group-chat header. AI images often get text and small details wrong, so keep the wording simple and add the actual date and time yourself.

Source: Microsoft Support

Gemini: research a real summer decision

Choosing between destinations, campgrounds, or day camps means a lot of open tabs. Deep Research sends Gemini out to read many sources and come back with one organized report.

  1. Go to gemini.google.com and sign in.
  2. In the prompt box, select Deep Research.
  3. Type what you are deciding: “Compare three family-friendly campgrounds within two hours of Boston for a weekend in August, with prices, amenities, and what reviewers complain about.”
  4. Look over the plan Gemini shows you, edit it if you want, then click Start research.
  5. Come back in five to ten minutes and open the report. It links the sources it used.

When to reach for it: when a choice is worth a careful look and you want the sources, not just an answer. It is slower than a normal chat on purpose, so click through to the sources for anything about money, safety, or health before you book.

Source: Google Gemini Apps Help

One habit for all four

AI can invent a fake fact in a trip plan as easily as in a work report, so the look-twice habit still applies. Keep personal and financial details out of any tool you do not trust, and confirm anything about money, health, or safety against a real source before you commit.

Want this in your inbox each week? Subscribe to Darice on AI.