Using AI to Meal Plan

The award for best everyday AI usage goes to our new friend Chelsey.

A daily column about freedom, exploration, life in general, and creating work and a life you actually like. There are stories.

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I’m no AI researcher, but I’ve started to think a lot about it, use it more strategically, and am beyond impressed by what it can help us humans do. With reservations. The following example is only scratching the surface of what AI can currently or eventually do, but it’s one I think you’ll like. I did.

It comes from a conversation with a sales associate at the local Ulta about AI. Her name was either Chelsey or Chelsee or Chelsy or Chelsie—regardless of spelling, she was cool and we’ll refer to her as Chelsey.

Chelsey helped me find my product—perfume if you care to know. Then, as she walked me up to the register to make sure I didn’t steal it, I asked how her day was going. She told me interesting things, and asked me if anything was exciting about my day.

What a great question, and in asking it, she threw the door wide open to a very memorable conversation.

Me: “Well, yes, actually. I’m building an app and I’m blown away by how helpful ChatGPT is being.”

We agreed that that was pretty amazing that ChatGPT can do things like this, which got me curious about how she uses it.

Her: “I use it for meal and grocery planning.”

Me: “What? Say more.”

Her: “I tell it to make a meal plan and shopping list for me for one week, shopping at Trader Joe’s, with a budget of $80.”

Mic-drop. Did your heart just sing a little bit, that you might no longer need to ideate from scratch every single meal and snack you eat, and the accompanying grocery list?

To test it out, I replicated her prompt and was dazzled by the results—you might be, too. Especially because, since it’s AI, you can respond to it. You can tell it what you don’t like about its suggestions, any dietary preferences you have, that kind of thing.

What a totally eventful time we get to be alive. Happier meal-planning to us all.

P.S. If you could use some relatable money + life talk, Amazon just put my book—Dear Fellow Spender—on sale for $11.44. I’m experimenting with a new, lower price and it seems like they’re adding juice with a discount. No idea how long they’ll run the sale for, so wanted to share while the sale is fresh!

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