So you’re checking email before your flight? Bad move. Scammers could be stealing your data. In this episode of The Current, my AI employee George and I dig into the latest tricks thieves use to target travelers.
5 ways GPT-5 can do in minutes what used to take you days
Bing Image Creator
The other day, I needed to round up every single email about the never-ending trouble we’ve had with our pool builder. We’re talking years of back-and-forth, buried in thousands of emails. Doing it manually would have taken me days and put me in a really nasty bad mood as I was reliving the horror.
Cue the angels.
Instead, I connected my Gmail with GPT-5, asked it to pull every relevant email and then summarize, categorize and put them in order. Eleven minutes later, I had a decent color-coded timeline. About 40 minutes and several prompts after that, I had something to run with.
That’s when it hit me … GPT-5 isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a power tool for your brain. Now, it’s far from perfect, but here’s what you can try:
📚 1. Handle massive files without breaking a sweat
Got a giant stack of paperwork? Get the AI version of “I skimmed it so you don’t have to.” GPT-5 can read thousands of pages in one go.
Example: Say you’re knee-deep in seven years of HOA meeting notes. Just upload the lot, then ask, “Find every mention of landscaping fees, and summarize the decisions.”
Also great for insurance policies or NDAs. Try, “GPT, are there potential ‘gotchas’ I should be aware of in this doc?” You’ll get your answer before your coffee cools.
🗂 2. Analyze multiple file types together
Mix and match PDFs, Word docs, Excel sheets, even images. GPT-5 reads them all and connects the dots.
Example: If you run a small business, you can upload supplier contracts, sales spreadsheets and scanned invoices, then ask, “Match each invoice to its supplier, and flag anything over budget.”
⚡ 3. Search and categorize at lightning speed
🍏 Update your Apple gear ASAP: Apple dropped an emergency patch for iPhones, iPads and Macs after hackers were caught exploiting a nasty flaw. The trick? Sending a booby-trapped image via text or email that lets them break in and run malicious code. Go to Settings > General > Software Update now.
700+
How many emails Mark Cuban reads and replies to every single day. No assistant. No Slack. Just three phones and an email trail stretching back to the ’90s. Meetings? Pass. He’d rather crush his inbox than lose an hour to a “quick sync.” Bonus: Gmail’s auto-replies do 20% of the heavy lifting.
🍏 Set default apps on Mac: There’s no single place to change all defaults, so you’ll need to do them one by one. For your browser: Go to System Settings > Desktop & Dock, and scroll down to Default web browser. For email: Open the Mail app, click Mail (top left corner of screen) > Settings > General > Default email reader.
📧 Big Tech is reading your emails: Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, so annoying. They all snoop on what you open, click and even say. I use StartMail because it puts privacy first: no ads, no tracking, and encrypted email with unlimited disposable addresses. Try it free for 7 days right now, and get 60% off. It’s what I use, and I trust it.
📉 Debt end job: You ever feel like your job is draining you one unread email at a time, but you can’t leave because … bills? There’s a new term for that: “quiet cracking.” You’re not quitting. You’re just there. Fatigue, disconnection, stuck in place. A lot of folks feel the same. PSA: If work feels like it’s draining you, remember, bills need paying, but so do you. Take five. Breathe.
Open multiple app windows on iPad: You can run two instances of the same app for better multitasking. For example, in Mail, tap the three dots at the top of the screen, select New Window, and another Mail window will open. Now swipe along the bottom to check one email while working on another.
📧 Big Tech are email snoops: Gmail, Yahoo and all those other Big Tech companies track your email activity. You don’t need to put up with it. StartMail puts privacy first! No ads, no tracking, includes encrypted emails and disposable addresses. Get 60% off your first year, and try it free for seven days. Such a great service and deal!
🔗 Make cleaner links on Mac: Sending someone a messy URL in an email? There’s a better way. Type your message, highlight the text you want to turn into a link, and press Command + K. A text box will pop up. Paste your URL with Command + V and click OK. Voilà. A professional hyperlink.
📄 Send docs to Kindle: You’ve got two easy ways. First, find your Send-to-Kindle email under Settings > Your Account on your Kindle. Email your documents there, and they’ll show up in your Library. Or go to amazon.com/sendtokindle and drag and drop the files. Both work like a charm.
We may earn a commission from purchases, but our recommendations are always objective.
📧 Prime-time panic: Amazon just mass-emailed 220 million Prime users about a rise in account impersonation scams. Phishing, phone calls and fake Prime renewals are the flavor of the month. Frequent scams include phony iPhone purchases and “click here to cancel” traps. You’re not special. Everyone got this email. But don’t click anything. Seriously.
📅 Schedule emails in Gmail: Most people don’t know this, but you can write an email now and send it later. In the compose window, click the arrow next to the blue Send button and choose Schedule send. Select Pick date & time, fill in the deets, then click Schedule send again. Easy.
📧 Take back that email: In Gmail, you can undo a sent message if you move fast. Click the Settings icon > See all settings > General, then find Undo Send. Set the cancellation period to 30 seconds, scroll down, and click Save Changes. Next time you regret an email, just hit Undo.
🚨 Don’t trust every AI summary in Gmail: Heads up! Scammers are getting smarter and sneakier. Some are now hiding dangerous messages in white text on a white background, like “Your password was compromised, call this number.” You won’t see it with your eyes, but Gmail’s Gemini AI does and it might include that hidden message in the email’s summary, making it sound like a real warning from Google. The takeaway? Always double-check emails yourself before clicking or calling anything. AI is helpful, but it’s not perfect and hackers know how to work around it.
🚨 New Uber scam: You request a ride, the driver accepts and you get a call saying you need to verify your account. The scammer asks for your phone number, email and verification codes. Give it up, and they log into your account and steal your money.
Helen Mirren needs your help?
Get an email from her asking for Bitcoin? It’s all part of a new celeb scam.
⚡️ 3-second tech genius: Press Space bar to scroll down, Shift + Space bar to go up. You can even use that trick to scroll through this email. Nice.