1. Set your holiday hours by typing one sentence

If you manage one verified Google Business Profile, connect it to Gemini at gemini.google.com (personal Google account, Keep Activity on) and type:

“@Google Business Profile set special hours for Thanksgiving.”

Then check your listing on Google before you trust it.

Source: https://support.google.com/business/answer/17142585

2. Draft replies to your last five reviews

Paste a review and ask:

“Write a two-sentence reply from a small Vermont business. Thank them by first name, mention one specific thing they said, no exclamation points. If the review is negative, offer a phone number instead of arguing.”

Edit every reply before it goes up.

3. Answer the question you get every day, once

Paste five customer emails (names removed) and ask:

“List the questions these customers are asking, then write one short, friendly answer for each that I can save as a canned reply.”

4. Turn a shoebox of receipts into a spreadsheet

Photograph 10 receipts and upload them (free plans allow limited uploads). Ask:

“Make a table with date, vendor, amount and category. Flag any receipt you can’t read instead of guessing.”

Check the totals against the paper. AI misreads numbers.

5. Plan for stick season and mud season

“I run [type of business] in [town], Vermont. Business drops in November and April. Give me five low-cost ideas to bring in local customers during those weeks, and a one-paragraph email for each.”

6. Rewrite a job posting so people finish reading it

Paste your current posting and ask:

“Rewrite this in plain English under 150 words. Put pay, hours and location in the first three lines.”

7. Read a long document without reading all of it

Upload a grant guideline, town bylaw or lease to Gemini Notebook, Google’s tool formerly called NotebookLM (notebooklm.google.com), and ask:

“What do I have to do, by when, and what happens if I miss it? Quote the section for each answer.”

Read the quoted sections yourself before acting.

8. Test the tool before you trust it

The Vermont Agency of Transportation writes test questions and grades AI answers before relying on a tool. Do a small version: write 10 questions about your business that you know the answers to, ask them, and mark each answer right, wrong or incomplete.

Source: https://aicenterforgovernment.org/2026/10/08/ai-bright-spot-lowering-costs-and-modeling-accountability-with-ai-in-vermont/

9. Draft a week of social posts in one sitting

“Write three short Facebook posts for [business] in [town], Vermont, for next week. One practical tip, one behind-the-scenes, one about an event or offer. No hashtags except our town name.”

10. Bring your AI questions to a free adviser

The Vermont Small Business Development Center offers no-fee, one-to-one, confidential advising statewide. Write down the two tasks from this list that worked for you and the one that didn’t, and bring them.

https://www.vtsbdc.org/

Every Friday we send the week’s Vermont AI news, with the sources linked.

Free, weekly, Vermont: https://www.aiinthe802.com/subscribe

Grok Bot is xAI's agent app. Instead of one chatbot, you get Bots you message like teammates. Each Bot has its own computer in the cloud, so it keeps working after you close your laptop, and it can sign into your tools and websites to do multi-step jobs. This one is not free. Checked October 6, 2026.

Grok Bot comes with a paid plan. The usual route is Cursor Pro at $20 a month, which includes Grok Bot with weekly usage. It also comes with SuperGrok at $30 a month. There is a free trial, but it is a usage credit, not a number of days. A big job can use it up fast.

Get the app from x.ai/bot. It runs on Mac, Windows, and iPhone. Sign in with the same Cursor or Grok account that holds your plan.

Meet your first Bot

1. Open the Grok Bot app and sign in.

2. Create a Bot. Give it a name and one job.

3. Give it something small first, like sorting a list or summarizing a document.

4. It will come back to you when it needs approval. That is normal.

Teach it a repeat job once. Ask a Bot to follow along while you do a workflow one time. It saves the steps as a routine and can run it on its own next time, even on a schedule.

Questions

Is Grok Bot the same as Grok?

No. Grok is the chatbot at grok.com and inside X. Grok Bot is the separate agent app, where Bots do jobs on their own computer.

Do I need to pay?

Yes, beyond the trial. Grok Bot access comes with Cursor Pro ($20 a month), higher Cursor plans, or SuperGrok ($30 a month). The trial is a usage credit, so start with small jobs.

What should I let it touch first?

Nothing with money or your inbox on day one. Give it a contained job, watch what it does, and use the approval step. Connect more once you trust the routine.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Muse is Meta's personal AI assistant. You get your own agent that keeps your context between chats, and you reach it through an app, the web, or WhatsApp. It starts free, with a usage limit. Checked October 6, 2026.

Open muse.ai, or download the Muse app from the App Store or Google Play. Muse is available in the US and Canada. The app opens on your own assistant. There are no group chats. Every conversation is between you and your agent.

Sign in or create an account when prompted. The free tier covers getting started. Paid monthly plans add more usage if you ever need it.

Get set up

1. Open muse.ai or install the Muse app.

2. Sign in or make an account.

3. Say hello and ask one thing you actually need today.

4. Come back tomorrow with a follow-up. It keeps the thread.

WhatsApp works too. If you would rather not install another app, you can talk to the same assistant from WhatsApp.

Questions

Is Muse free?

It starts free, with a usage limit. Paid monthly plans exist for heavier use. Start on free.

Is this the same as chatting with Meta AI?

No. Muse is your own agent with its own memory of your conversations, reached through the Muse app, muse.ai, or WhatsApp.

What should I not hand it on day one?

Passwords, and anything you would not paste into any chat box. Start with ordinary tasks and see what comes back before connecting anything.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Gemini uses a Google account. Sign in at gemini.google.com so the chat is still there later. Checked September 25, 2026.

Gemini does not have its own login. Sign in uses a Google account.

Create the account

1. Open gemini.google.com.

2. Click Sign in when you want the chat kept.

3. On 'Use your Google Account,' enter email or phone, then Next.

4. If you have no Google account, click Create account on that same page. First name is required. Last name is optional.

A work or school Google account can refuse this. Switch to a personal Gmail if the work login stops you.

Gmail, Drive, and Calendar stay disconnected until you connect them. Leave them off for the first week.

The account is on when the answer stays

Ask one question you already needed. Sign in, leave, and come back. If the chat is still in the sidebar, the account stuck.

Questions

Does Gemini need its own password?

No. It uses a Google account. The sign-in page says "Use your Google Account."

Can I try Gemini before I sign in?

Yes. The chat loads signed out. Sign in when you want that chat saved.

Should I connect Gmail on day one?

No. Leave Gmail, Drive, and Calendar off until a normal chat is already useful. Next: Give an AI agent one jobIf you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

A new chat window does not finish the admin. The work starts when one repeating job has a written instruction and a person still checks the result.

Most people try AI the same way they try a new app. They open it once, ask a clever question, and go back to the inbox.

The tool is not the job. The job is the thing you already do every week: sort mail, chase a quote, move a date, or copy a note from one place to another.

Start with one job

Pick a task you can describe in a few sentences. If you cannot say who it is for, what done looks like, and what it must never do, an agent will wander.

Keep the login

You keep every account. An agent should use a connection you can turn off, not a password pasted into a chat. If someone asks for the password to your email, stop.

Check the work

For the first week, the agent drafts and you send. That is slower on purpose. It shows whether the instruction is clear before anything reaches a customer.

When one job is steady, add a second.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Claude Cowork runs a task you describe, then waits while you read the approach. It is on paid Claude plans. Checked September 25, 2026.

Claude's getting-started page for Cowork was updated September 25, 2026. The note at the top says Cowork is now just Claude, rolling out gradually to Pro and Max. If the message box still shows Chat and Cowork, you pick Cowork, describe the task, and review the approach before it runs. It is on paid plans: Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise. Desktop, web, and mobile do not all show it the same way. Enterprise can be off until an admin turns it on.

Do this once

1. Use a paid Claude plan. The free chat is a different page: How to set up a Claude account.

2. If the box still says Cowork, choose it. If it does not, ask for the task.

3. Describe one task.

4. Read the approach before it runs.

Questions

Is Cowork on the free Claude plan?

No. The September 25, 2026 help page lists Pro, Max, Team, and Enterprise.

What if I do not see a Cowork button?

The same help page says Cowork is now just Claude, rolling out gradually. Ask for the task. Claude decides whether it is a chat or a task.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

How to let an agent sort email into three piles without letting it reply for you.

What you need

- The inbox you actually use. Gmail or Outlook is enough

- Twenty minutes

- A tool that can read mail and, if you want, save drafts

Make three labels

- Reply today

- Waiting

- Skip

Reply today is a person who asked you something. Waiting is a receipt, a newsletter, or a thread you already answered. Skip is noise you will not open.

Write the instruction

Paste this, then edit the examples so they sound like your mail.

Sort each new message into Reply today, Waiting, or Skip. Reply today means a customer, a vendor, or a person who asked a question only I can answer. Waiting means receipts, shipping, and threads where I already sent the last note. Skip means promotions and mail I never open. Do not send, delete, archive, or forward. Do not open attachments. If a message might be a customer, put it in Reply today.

Test on ten messages

Run it on mail you have already read. If two of the ten land in the wrong pile, fix the instruction before you point it at today's inbox.

Drafts, not sends

If the tool can write a draft, let it draft replies only for Reply today, in your voice, and leave them unsent. You send. That one rule prevents the mistake people regret.

What this covers

This sorts mail. It does not book jobs or take payment. When the sort is right, the usual next step is a draft, then a reminder, then a person who builds it into the tools you already pay for.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

A short setup for one agent and one job. You stay in charge of every send.

Name the job

Write one sentence: "Each weekday morning, sort new mail into needs a reply, can wait, and ignore."

Add three rules:

- Do not send, delete, or forward anything

- Do not open attachments

- If you are unsure, leave it in needs a reply

Give it only what that job needs

Connect the inbox as read, or as draft-only if the tool can save drafts. Leave the calendar, the bank, and the website alone until this job is boring.

Run it beside you

For five mornings, compare the agent's sort with yours. Change the instruction when it misses the same kind of message twice. Save the instruction where you can find it next month.

Stop when it is steady

A working agent is a saved instruction plus a habit of checking it. If the job needs your files, your tone, and a person on the hook when it fails, that is setup work, not a longer prompt.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Paste one bounded job into ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot. Read the result. Do not connect email until that result is right.

Use the ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot account you already opened. Do not install a coding tool first.

The job

Paste this, then under it list what is actually in the fridge:

"Make a grocery list for five dinners. Use only the food I list under this message. Do not buy anything, do not send email, and do not change my calendar. Show the list and stop."

1. Paste the instruction.

2. Under it, list the food you actually have.

3. Read the list.

4. Tell it one item it got wrong, in a normal sentence.

If it asks to connect Gmail, a calendar, or a card, say no until that list is right.

If the app will not hold a job open and only answers the next message, stay there and keep the list it wrote. You still have the list.

Questions

Which account should I use?

Whichever you already opened: ChatChatGPT, GemGemini, ClauClaude, or CopCopilot.

Should I connect my email first?

No. Say no to Gmail, calendar, and cards until the list is right.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Perplexity answers with sources. Sign in with Google, Apple, or email when you want the answer kept. Checked September 25, 2026.

Open perplexity.ai. On September 25, 2026 the page asked "What do you want to know?" with an "Ask anything..." box. Search is the mode that looks things up and cites them. Computer is a separate button for handing off a project. Leave Computer alone until Search has answered you once.

Sign In is at the bottom of the left sidebar. Clicking it opened a box that says "Sign up below to unlock the full potential of Perplexity." The choices are Continue with Google, Continue with Apple, an email field with Continue with email, and a line for Single sign-on. Single sign-on is for a company login. Skip it unless your work told you to use it.

If a cookie banner pops up, choosing "necessary only" is enough.

You can ask one question before you sign up. Sign up when you want the answer kept.

Create the account

1. Open perplexity.ai.

2. Click Sign In in the left sidebar.

3. Continue with Google, Apple, or email.

4. Skip Single sign-on unless your company told you to use it.

5. Ask one question in Search, not Computer.

Questions

Can I use Perplexity without an account?

Yes, for one question. Sign up when you want the answer kept.

What is Computer on the Perplexity home page?

A separate button for handing off a project. Leave it until Search has answered you once.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Sign up at grok.com. The account page offers X, email, Apple, Google, and GitHub. A saved chat means the account stuck. Checked September 25, 2026.

Open grok.com. On September 25, 2026 the page loaded a box under "What should we explore?" You can type before you have an account. The footer says messaging Grok means you agree to the terms. A signed-out chat is a bad place to leave anything you want back later.

Click Sign up. The next page is accounts.x.ai, titled "Create your account," and the corner says you are signing into Grok. The buttons, in this order, are Sign up with X, Sign up with email, Sign up with Apple, Sign up with Google, and Sign up with GitHub. X is the first button, not the only one.

Create the account

1. Open grok.com.

2. Click Sign up.

3. On accounts.x.ai, pick X, email, Apple, Google, or GitHub.

4. Ask one thing you already needed.

If that answer is still there when you come back, the account stuck.

Grok also sits inside X. The grok.com account is the one this guide is for. A post on X is not the same as a saved Grok chat.

Questions

Do I need an X account to use Grok?

No. Sign up with X is the first button. Email, Apple, Google, and GitHub are on the same page.

Is a Grok chat on X the same as grok.com?

No. This guide is for the account at grok.com. A post on X is not a saved Grok chat.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Sign in at copilot.com with a Microsoft account so the chats stay. The chat is free. Word and Excel are a separate add-on.

Open copilot.com and click Sign in. Microsoft's page, loaded September 25, 2026, asks for email, phone, or Skype, then Next. Under the box it says "No account? Create one!" For personal accounts it also offers Continue with Google and Continue with Apple.

That login is the one the chats stick to. Signed-out use does not keep them.

Create the account

1. Open copilot.com.

2. Click Sign in.

3. Enter an email, phone, or Skype name you already use, then Next. Or choose Google or Apple.

4. If you have no Microsoft account, choose Create one.

On a Windows PC, Copilot may already sit in the taskbar. Sign in there with the same account.

The chat on copilot.com is the free one. Copilot inside Word, Excel, and Outlook is a separate paid add-on. You can learn the chat without buying that.

Questions

Is Copilot in Word the same thing as copilot.com?

The Microsoft login can be the same. The chat on copilot.com is free. Copilot inside Word, Excel, and Outlook is a paid add-on. You do not need that add-on to learn the chat.

Do I have to pay to sign in?

No. Sign in so the chats stay. Payment is for the Office add-on, not for opening the chat.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Create a Claude account at claude.ai with Google or email. The free plan is enough for a first chat. Checked September 25, 2026.

You can start without a credit card. The free plan is enough for a first chat.

Create the account

1. Open claude.ai.

2. Continue with Google, or enter your email.

3. Finish the prompts. A phone check may appear.

4. Stay on the free plan for the first chat.

After one answer

Look for Projects in the sidebar. Make one named Home, or Work. Put three to six lines in it: what you want back, and what it should leave alone. Add only the files for that work.

Leave Claude Code and the terminal alone until a normal chat is already useful.

Cowork, the task runner, is a later step and a paid plan. See How to start a task in Claude Cowork.

Questions

Do I need a credit card for Claude?

No. The free plan covers a first chat.

What is the first useful setup after the account exists?

One project with a short instruction, then one saved answer. Coding tools come after that.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.

Open chatgpt.com and sign up with email, Google, Microsoft, or Apple. Free does not ask for a card. Checked September 25, 2026.

Open chatgpt.com and choose Sign up. A free account does not ask for a credit card.

OpenAI's help article on Pro tiers says new sign-ups for the $200 Pro plan have been paused since September 10, 2026. Free, and the cheaper paid plans, were not part of that pause. Stay on Free until a real task runs out of room.

Create the account

1. Go to chatgpt.com.

2. Choose Sign up.

3. Use email, Google, Microsoft, or Apple.

4. Skip any paid plan.

Before you paste anything private

Open Settings. Look at Memory, and look at whether chats can be used to train models. Set both the way you want them before you paste a name, a medical note, or a file. Do not paste a password.

The account is on when the answer stays

Ask for one thing you already needed today. Come back later. If you can scroll to that answer, the account stuck.

Questions

Do I need a credit card to set up ChatGPT?

No. The free account is enough to start. The $200 Pro plan was not taking new sign-ups as of September 10, 2026.

Can I use ChatGPT without an account?

You may get a chat before you sign up. It will not be there when you come back. Sign up when you want the answer kept.

What should I skip on the first day?

Plugins, an inbox connection, and a coding install. Finish one saved chat first. Then read Give an AI agent one job.

If you want more of these, subscribe to AI in the 802. Free, every Friday: Vermont AI news and one practical guide at a time.