How A.I. can work for you this holiday season

If you are stressed about finding the perfect holiday gift for the person who has everything or dreading making a grocery list for your big holiday dinner, try A.I.

We hear about artificial intelligence all the time but many of us aren't using it. But we think you will after you see how it can help you.

"It's kind of like you're a smart work buddy. Ask it the things that your smart work buddy would be able to help with, but be aware that it's not always right," explained Robertson Price.

Price, a Philadelphia native, is the founder and CEO of Ragu, a global AI platform.

His professional track record includes founding and leading MyVideoDaily and Rebates.com to successful acquisitions. He also founded The Answers Network, which grew to serve 32 million monthly visitors.

With pending A.I. patents and over two decades of experience helping businesses adopt new technologies, Price launched Ragu two years ago. Ragu builds custom A.I.s for businesses but Price is helping us harness the power of A.I. at home.

"ChatGPT is a great one. Perplexity.ai is a great search engine, so if you have questions go there. Claude.ai is a fantastic tool."

All three are available for free.

Each also offers an upgraded, "smarter" version for about $20 per month.

But we took the free options for a spin.

We asked ChatGPT to find a Christmas gift for a man who likes to cycle indoors, likes sporting events and local Philadelphia sports teams.

Within seconds ChatGPT had a long list of great gift ideas: like a hydration water bottle or a massager.

Next we used Perplexity to shop for the best price with free shipping on a massager. It provided a chart with the product, features, price, and store plus actual links.

We use Claude to whip up a holiday dinner. It made an invitation to send to guests plus provided dishes with recipes and created a grocery list.

But there are a few things to be aware of: the platforms themselves warn up front that it's not perfect and responses can be inaccurate.

Price said A.I. sometimes has hallucinations.

"Where they literally make up stuff," he said. "So be aware, double check your work."

And Claude said it "is not intended to give advice, including legal, financial, & medical advice."

ChatGPT also warns, "Don't share sensitive information. Chats may be reviewed and used to train our models."

But bottom line?

"This technology isn't going away. I wouldn't hide from it. I wouldn't be scared of it. I'd lean into it," Price said.

Using A.I. can actually give you back time!

"20 to 30-percent of everyone's day is spent just looking for information. So that 20 to 30 percent can just be reclaimed back. Automations account for 60 to 70 percent of someone's work day, so really what we're talking about on a business level is giving every worker four days of extra time per week. Can you imagine getting four out of every five work days back? A lot of that you can put to productive use, but a lot of that can be used spending time with your family and friends," said Price.

Parents can also use A.I. to help kids with homework. He said it's imperative we teach our kids to use A.I. and to use it wisely and responsibly.

Another platform you might want to try is Gemini by Google.

Price put together an ABCs of AI for your use.