Claude: read the text and detail inside a picture

Claude can look at a photo you upload and reason about what is in it, and it is especially good at the words inside an image.

1. Open a new chat at claude.ai or in the Claude app.
2. Click the plus to add a photo, or just drag one into the message box. On your phone you can take a picture instead.
3. Ask your question in plain words, for example “what does this letter say I owe, and by when.”
4. Keep going in the same chat. You can add more images if you need to (up to 20). Claude reads JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP.

When to reach for it: when the answer is buried in the image itself, like messy handwriting, a confusing bill or form, a screenshot of an error, or a chart you want explained in plain language.

Source: Claude Help Center

ChatGPT: identify something and get the next step

ChatGPT can look at a photo and help you name what you are seeing and decide what to do about it.

1. Open ChatGPT on your phone or at chatgpt.com.
2. Tap the plus icon and choose Add photos & files, or drag or paste an image in. On the desktop app you can also choose Take Photo.
3. Before you send, you can mark up the photo to circle the exact part you mean.
4. Ask your question, for example “what is this plant and is it safe for a cat.”

When to reach for it: when you want to identify something and know what to do next, like a plant, a product label, a rash, or a math problem you want worked out step by step. Point at the part that matters and it focuses there.

Source: OpenAI Help Center

Copilot: point your camera and talk it through

Copilot Vision uses your phone’s live camera instead of a still photo, so you can aim it at something and ask out loud, hands free.

1. Open the Copilot app on your phone, on iOS or Android, and sign in with a free Microsoft account.
2. Tap the glasses icon to start a Copilot Vision session.
3. Point your camera at what is in front of you and ask your question out loud. Copilot answers with its voice.
4. End the session when you are done. Nothing you show it during the session is saved.

When to reach for it: when your hands are busy and the thing is right there, like a knob on a broken appliance, a recipe on the counter, or a plaque on a walk. This is the free consumer Copilot, not the paid Microsoft 365 one.

Source: Microsoft Support

Gemini: snap it in the moment and ask

Gemini lets you take a photo right inside the app and ask about it, which is handy when you are out and about.

1. Open the Gemini app on your phone.
2. Tap Add files. Choose Photos to pick one from your library, or Camera to take a new one.
3. Ask your question about the picture, for example “translate this menu and tell me which dishes have no meat.”
4. You can add up to 10 images in a single prompt if you are comparing a few things.

When to reach for it: for quick, on-the-go lookups where you take the picture on the spot, like a menu in another language, a label in a store, or what you could cook from what is in the fridge.

Source: Gemini Apps Help

One thing to keep in mind

A camera makes these tools feel confident, but they can still misread a photo, especially small print, handwriting, and numbers. Check anything that matters, like a dose, a due date, or a dollar amount, against the real document. And think before you share a picture that has personal details in it, like an ID or a full account number.

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Claude: Projects

A project is a saved workspace that holds your instructions and files in one place, so every chat inside it already knows the background.

1. Go to claude.ai/projects and click New Project. Give it a name.
2. Click “Set project instructions” and tell Claude how you want it to respond, then save.
3. Add files or notes to the project knowledge on the right, so every chat can draw on them.
4. Start a chat inside the project. It already has your context, no re-explaining.

When to reach for it: when you keep coming back to the same thing, a class, a side business, a trip you are planning. Free accounts can keep up to five projects.

Source: Claude Help Center

ChatGPT: Memory

With memory on, ChatGPT remembers useful details across chats, so you do not have to repeat your preferences every time.

1. Open Settings, then Personalization, and turn memory on.
2. Tell it what to keep, for example “Remember that I am vegetarian when you suggest recipes.”
3. Ask “What do you remember about me?” to see what it has saved.
4. Edit or clear anything in Settings, or use a temporary chat when you do not want it to remember.

When to reach for it: for the preferences that rarely change, your name, your city, how long you like answers. Keep sensitive personal or financial details out of it.

Source: OpenAI Help Center

Copilot: Personalization

Copilot can remember how you like to work and details you tell it, so its answers fit you without a fresh setup each time.

1. In Copilot Chat, open Settings, then Personalization.
2. Add custom instructions describing how you want Copilot to respond.
3. Turn on saved memories so it can hold onto details you share.
4. Review or remove anything under Settings, then Personalization, whenever you want.

When to reach for it: inside Microsoft 365 Copilot Chat. As of mid-2026 it is rolling out in preview, and it works with or without a paid Copilot license.

Source: Microsoft Learn

Gemini: Gems

A Gem is a custom version of Gemini you set up once with its own instructions, ready to reuse for a task that comes back.

1. In the Gemini web app, open Gems.
2. Create a new Gem and give it a name.
3. Write instructions for what it should do and how, and add files for context if you want.
4. Save it, then chat with your Gem any time instead of retyping the setup.

When to reach for it: when a task returns often, meal planning, study help, or writing in a set style. You can also start from a premade Gem.

Source: Gemini Apps Help

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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.

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Claude: build the finished Excel, PowerPoint, or PDF

Claude can create real .xlsx, .pptx, .docx, and .pdf files you download and use right away, not just text you copy out.

1. Open a new chat on Claude web, desktop, or mobile.
2. Describe the file you want in plain words, and name the format, for example an Excel budget with monthly columns and a totals row.
3. Attach any source material you want it to work from, such as a PDF, notes, or a spreadsheet. The limit is 30MB per file.
4. Let Claude build it. It can add working formulas, charts, and slides.
5. Download the file, or save it straight to Google Drive.

Weak: “Make a spreadsheet.” Better: “Create an .xlsx expense tracker with columns for date, category, and amount, a SUM total, and a pie chart of spend by category.”

When to reach for it: when you want a finished, downloadable Office file or PDF built from scratch or from documents you upload, especially when your files do not already live in Microsoft 365.

Source: Claude Help Center

ChatGPT: keep one body of work together with Projects

A Project holds chats, files, and instructions in one place, so you stop restating the same background every time you start a conversation.

1. Open Projects from the left menu and create a new project, then give it a name.
2. Add files the project should use across every chat. You can upload up to 10 files at a time.
3. Set project instructions so you do not repeat the same context each time.
4. Start a chat inside the project. ChatGPT prioritizes the project’s chats and files when it answers.
5. Move an existing chat into the project to keep related work in one spot.

Try it: create one project per recurring effort, add its reference files, and write two or three lines of instructions on tone and format.

When to reach for it: when you have ongoing work you will return to and want files, instructions, and past chats kept together in one persistent space.

Source: OpenAI Help Center

Copilot: work your data in the sheet in Excel

Copilot in Excel builds and edits your workbook using Excel’s own tables, charts, PivotTables, and formulas, and your content stays editable.

1. Open your workbook in Excel and select the Copilot icon in the lower-right corner.
2. Pick a mode. Edit changes the sheet directly, Plan drafts an approach for you to confirm first, and Chat answers without changing anything.
3. Type what you want in plain language, for example, add a column that flags any order over 500.
4. Watch Copilot’s plan in the pane and see the changes appear live in your workbook.
5. To stop or pause, select the Stop button in the chat input field.

Try it: start in Plan mode on an unfamiliar task so you can review the steps before Copilot touches your data.

When to reach for it: when your data already lives in an Excel workbook on OneDrive or SharePoint and you want the changes applied in the sheet itself, not in a separate file.

Source: Microsoft Support

Gemini: build a reusable assistant with Gems

A Gem is a custom version of Gemini with your instructions and reference files baked in, so it behaves the same way every time you call on it.

1. Go to gemini.google.com and on the left select Explore Gems, then New Gem.
2. Name the Gem and write instructions covering its goal, how it should behave, and the format you want.
3. Use the magic wand icon if you want Gemini to help write or expand the instructions.
4. Under Knowledge, click Add files to upload documents or add them from Google Drive for the Gem to reference.
5. Preview the Gem on the right, then click Save. Reuse it any time from your Gems list.

Try it: build a Gem for a task you repeat weekly, give it your style rules once, and skip re-explaining them every time.

When to reach for it: when you want a reusable custom assistant with fixed instructions and reference files you will call on repeatedly, especially if those files live in Google Drive.

Source: Gemini Apps Help

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