Your weekly food shop. That app you keep paying for. The website you’ve been meaning to rebuild for three years.
These are the kinds of jobs I want AI to help with. Useful things that save time, remove a recurring expense or let you make something you couldn’t make before.
In my video about ChatGPT’s Astra model, I shared six things to try. Here are the prompts to go with them, with enough detail to get you started.
Copy a prompt, replace the bits in square brackets and give it the relevant files, photos or links. You can keep refining the result in the same conversation.
Before you start
For these tasks, use the ChatGPT desktop app and select Astra if it’s available in your model picker. Use Work for everyday tasks and Codex for building apps, websites and other projects.
For tasks that involve operating your computer, enable Computer Use under Plugins and follow the permission prompts. Availability varies by region and account. OpenAI’s Computer Use setup guide explains the steps.
1. Plan your meals and fill your supermarket basket
Coming up with dinners is half the job. Working out quantities, checking the cupboards and finding everything on the supermarket website is the other half.
This prompt connects those jobs. Start with meal ideas, choose your favourites, then let Astra build the basket.
You get some of the convenience of a recipe box, with more control over the ingredients and budget.
Help me plan and shop for this week’s evening meals.
I’m feeding [number of adults and children].
I want [number] dinners, taking no more than [30] minutes each.
My budget for the ingredients is [£amount].
My usual supermarket is [name and website].
Dietary requirements and allergies: [details, or none].
Foods we like: [details].
Foods to avoid: [details].
Ingredients I already have: [list, or attached cupboard/fridge photos].
First, suggest eight meals with a short description and estimated preparation time. Choose meals that share ingredients to reduce waste, while keeping enough variety.
Wait for me to pick my favourites.
Then calculate the quantities needed and use my supermarket’s website to add the ingredients to my basket. Check pack sizes, avoid duplicates and prefer good-value options. Don’t assume I already have cupboard essentials unless I’ve listed them.
If something is unavailable, suggest a suitable alternative. Check ingredient information against the dietary requirements I’ve given you.
Show me the final basket, total cost and any delivery charges or missing items. Ask for my approval before placing the order or paying.
Finish with the meal plan and simple cooking instructions for each dinner.The useful detail here is asking it to share ingredients across meals. Otherwise, you can end up buying six different fresh herbs and using approximately three leaves of each.
2. Build a tool you currently pay for
I’m experimenting with rebuilding tools I use for meeting notes, voice transcription, notes and social media management.
The sensible starting point is the small set of features you actually use. A personal tool that does three jobs well can be more useful than an ambitious attempt to recreate an entire software company.
In Codex, start your prompt with /goal. This gives it an objective to keep working towards across multiple turns, with a clear definition of finished. It can still need your input or encounter limits. See OpenAI’s guide to goals.
/goal Build and test a working personal alternative to [tool name] that handles the features I actually use.
I currently use it for: [describe your workflow].
The three essential features are:
1. [Feature]
2. [Feature]
3. [Feature]
I will use this on [Mac, Windows, phone or browser].
I’ve attached [screenshots, sample files or examples].
Ask me only the questions that materially affect what you build. Make sensible decisions about the technical details and explain them in plain English.
Build the simplest useful version first. Use my examples to understand the workflow and create an original interface.
Prefer free or built-in options. Tell me about any ongoing hosting, storage, transcription or AI costs before adding a paid dependency.
Open the app and test the main workflow yourself. Check that I can add information, edit it, save it, close and reopen the app, and export my data. Fix any problems you find.
The goal is complete when the three essential features work, saved data survives a restart, and you’ve given me the working app with simple instructions for opening it, backing it up and using it.For a first project, I’d choose something you use personally and can test easily. Keep using your existing tool until the replacement has proved itself.
3. Turn a property listing into a 3D walkthrough
This one is fun, but it also has practical uses. A walkthrough can help you understand how rooms connect, think about furniture placement or explore a renovation idea.
Give Astra a property listing and, ideally, the floor plan and photographs. The floor plan matters because photographs alone leave a lot to interpretation.
Build an interactive 3D walkthrough of the property at [listing URL].
Use the listing’s floor plan, dimensions and photographs as references. I’ve also attached [files, if available]. If you can’t access the listing, tell me which images or documents you need.
Prioritise the room layout, proportions, doors, windows and connections between rooms. Use stated dimensions where available and clearly identify any estimated dimensions or inferred details.
Create a version I can open in my browser and walk around using the arrow keys or WASD, with the mouse to look around.
Include a floor-plan overview, room labels and a button that resets my position if I get stuck. Add simple furniture for scale without blocking the routes through the house.
Test the walkthrough yourself. Check that the controls work, rooms are accessible and I can’t accidentally walk through walls or fall out of the model.
Give me the working walkthrough, project files and a short explanation of what is accurate, estimated or missing.Treat the result as a visual aid. Any measurements you need for building work or buying furniture still need checking.
I’ve also been exploring Roblox games based on my kids’ drawings and game ideas. The same starting principle applies: give it the drawing, explain what the player should do and ask for one small, playable level first.
4. Edit a video with HyperFrames
If you work in marketing, run a business or create content, you probably have footage sitting somewhere that could become a useful video.
For this, I use HyperFrames, which gives coding agents tools and instructions for creating video projects. Follow the HyperFrames setup instructions, or give that link to Codex and ask it to help you get set up.
Then attach your footage or point it to the folder.
Use HyperFrames to turn my footage into a finished video.
Source footage: [attached files or folder].
Platform: [Instagram Reels, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn or website].
Target length: [duration].
Format: [vertical 9:16, square 1:1 or landscape 16:9].
Audience: [who it’s for].
Main message: [what viewers should understand].
Desired next step: [what viewers should do].
Brand materials and visual references: [files or links].
Review the footage and identify the strongest opening. Remove unnecessary pauses, repetition and false starts while preserving my meaning and natural delivery.
Add accurate, readable captions. Use motion graphics, supporting footage and on-screen text where they help explain the content. Follow my supplied brand references.
Keep captions and essential graphics clear of platform interface areas. Make speech easy to hear and keep any background music underneath it. Use only music and assets I’ve supplied or that are cleared for this use.
Render a first cut, inspect the exported video and fix caption errors, awkward cuts, overlapping graphics or audio problems.
Give me the finished MP4 and editable project files. Flag anything that needs my judgement before publication.Give it a reference video if you have one. “I like the pacing and captions in this” is much more useful than “make it look professional”.
5. Turn a pile of unwanted stuff into sale listings
Photographing the things you want to sell is easy enough. Writing each listing, researching prices and filling in all the fields is where the job tends to stall.
This is a useful way to tackle the whole pile at once.
Take clear photographs of each item, including labels, accessories and any damage. Then use this prompt.
Help me prepare these items for sale on [eBay or Facebook Marketplace].
I’ve attached photographs of everything I want to sell.
My location is [town or general area].
I prefer [collection, postage or either].
My priority is [selling quickly or getting the best reasonable price].
Group the photographs by item and create an inventory. Identify the brand and model where the evidence supports it. Don’t invent specifications, condition details or claims that an item works.
Research comparable items and suggest an asking price for each. Use sold listings where available, and distinguish actual sale prices from asking prices.
Write a clear title and useful description for every item, including visible wear and what is included.
Ask me for missing details in one batch, such as whether items work, measurements, postage weight or minimum acceptable prices.
Use the marketplace website to prepare the listings, saving drafts where supported. Show me the descriptions, prices, delivery arrangements and any fees for approval before publishing.
Finish with a tracker showing each item, suggested price and listing status.It can do a lot of the preparation, but it can’t guarantee a buyer. Accurate descriptions and sensible prices still matter.
6. Rebuild your website and get it online
An old website is an excellent starting brief. It already contains information about the business, even if the design and wording need work.
Add your current services, good photographs, your logo and a clear idea of what visitors should do. That gives Astra something concrete to build around.
For a straightforward business website, Cloudflare Pages has a free hosting tier with usage limits. Your domain and any paid services are separate costs.
Build a new website for [business name].
Existing website: [URL].
What the business does: [description].
Target customers: [audience and location].
Main action visitors should take: [enquire, book, call or buy].
Essential pages and features: [list].
Brand materials, photographs and updated content: [files or links].
Websites I like and why: [examples].
Review the existing site and supplied materials. Use confirmed business information, and flag anything missing or outdated. Don’t invent testimonials, credentials, prices or results.
Build a clear, distinctive website that works well on phones and computers. Follow the supplied brand identity and make the main customer action obvious.
Use a simple setup suitable for Cloudflare Pages’ free tier where possible. Explain any features that require a paid service before adding them.
Test the navigation, links, mobile layout and any forms. A form must genuinely deliver enquiries, not just display a success message.
Deploy the completed site to a Cloudflare Pages preview address and give me the link to review.
After I approve it, help me connect my domain. Check the existing domain settings first and preserve any email services.
Give me the website files and plain-English instructions for updating the content.Cloudflare’s custom domain guide covers the connection process. Ask Astra to work through the setup with you using your actual domain provider.
Pick the task you already need to do this week. Give Astra the real materials, try the result yourself and tell it specifically what needs improving. That’s where these prompts become useful.
