Getting started with AI for free: the first five useful everyday tasks

How to get started

You do not need a subscription to begin. According to the providers, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini can all be used for free in a web browser or as an app (as of October 2026). Gemini needs a Google account; for the other two you create an account with the provider. The German consumer advice centres (Verbraucherzentralen) also say that to try a chatbot you usually need neither a paid version nor a paid app.

The free versions have limits, for example on file uploads or on how many messages you can send in a given period. For the five tasks in this article, they are usually more than enough.

The most important rule first: write the way you would talk to a helpful person. Say what you need, who it is for, and how long or in what tone the result should be. If you do not like the answer, simply ask for a change, such as shorter, friendlier or simpler.

Tasks 1 and 2: drafting texts and getting things explained

Task 1, drafting texts: many people know the feeling of staring at an email to the landlord, a complaint or a greeting card without knowing how to begin. Describe the occasion and the tone you want in two or three sentences. For example: write a short, polite email asking for a new appointment for the boiler service. You then adjust the draft yourself. Add names, addresses and contract numbers later in your own email program, not in the chat.

Task 2, getting difficult things explained: AI assistants can turn technical terms, abbreviations or complicated procedures into plain language. You might ask what a term in an official letter means, or ask for an explanation as if you were new to the topic. A useful request is: explain it in short sentences with an everyday example.

Keep in mind: Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) points out that AI can be wrong and can even make things up. Experts call this hallucinating. For health, money and legal matters, an explanation is no substitute for professional advice.

Task 3: summarising long texts

Instruction manuals, club minutes or long articles are good candidates for a summary. Paste the text into the chat or upload the file and ask, for example: summarise this in five points and tell me what I actually need to do.

Two things to note. First, file uploads are limited on the free tiers; OpenAI explicitly lists them as limited for ChatGPT Free (as of October 2026). With very long documents it can help to paste them in parts. Second, the German consumer advice centres advise against entering copyrighted works such as entire books into a chatbot, because inputs are usually stored and reused.

A summary can leave out important details. If a deadline, a figure or a condition matters, check the relevant passage in the original.

Tasks 4 and 5: planning and translating

Task 4, planning and brainstorming: AI assistants are good at drafting lists and plans. Typical examples are a weekly dinner plan based on what is still in the fridge, a packing list for a day trip, a moving checklist or ideas for a small birthday party. Add a few constraints, such as budget, number of people or things you dislike. The result is a suggestion you can trim and extend.

Task 5, translating and practising a language: you can have short texts translated, such as a message to friends abroad or a menu on holiday. If needed, ask for simple, natural wording rather than a literal translation. With the voice feature of the apps, which is usually available in limited form on the free tiers, you can also practise a simple conversation in another language.

Our assessment: for official documents such as contracts or certificates, an AI translation does not replace a certified translation.

What to keep in mind from day one

Do not enter sensitive data. The German consumer advice centres generally recommend not entering personal or sensitive data into ChatGPT or other AI tools. The BSI advises sharing as little sensitive data as possible. That includes passwords, bank details, health information and ID numbers.

Check important answers. According to the consumer advice centres, answers are not checked for accuracy. The BSI recommends fact-checking results and looking closely at any links or attachments an AI produces before opening them.

Switch off training if you prefer. In the app settings you can choose whether your chats may be used to improve the models. According to the consumer advice centres, you have to actively object if you do not want this.

Only install apps from trustworthy sources, meaning the official app store or the provider's own website. The BSI recommends this as well.