Artificial intelligence

Tech how-to: Turn off built-in AI on your computer and phone

Ever feel like your apps are trying a little too hard to be helpful? Maybe they’re suggesting cringy replies, summarizing things you actually wanted to read, or just getting way too pushy.

Let’s dive into how to turn off those AI features that just aren’t working for you.

Start in the settings

Look for the settings cog (that little gear icon) or tap your profile picture to open your options. Once inside, check sections labeled AI, smart features, suggestions, privacy or automation.

Keep an eye out for toggles and checkboxes that let you switch features on or off. You want to find AI add-ons like summaries, smart replies, recommendations and predictive text that tries to finish your sentences for you.

✅ Be a Privacy Komando: While you’re in settings, take a peek at the privacy section for anything related to data collection or personalization. Your data is what powers AI, so if you’re not using AI, turn it off.

No-more-AI cheat sheet

Here are the most common steps. Because there are so many makes, models and operating systems out there, your steps might be a little different.

On a Windows PC: Go to Settings > Personalization > Taskbar. From here, you can turn off Copilot.

On a Mac running macOS 15 or later: Click the Apple menu > System Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > toggle Apple Intelligence off. Note: Apple Intelligence isn’t available on all Macs yet.

On an iPhone: Apple Intelligence is on by default with compatible models. To change that, open Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > toggle Apple Intelligence off. Note: Apple Intelligence isn’t available on all Macs yet.

On an Android: Choose between Gemini (Google’s AI) and the old Google Assistant. Go to Settings > Apps > Assistant > Digital assistants from Google.

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Bots are talking to each other

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. One AI bot calls up another, and they chat back and forth in English. Once they realize they’re both AI, they switch to a secret-to-them language totally undecipherable to human ears.

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What are you tackling in 2025? Even if all you have is a vague idea, AI can help you with an action plan. Here are a few prompts to try with ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude.

“I have a goal for 2025 to [fill in the blank]. Can you help me make it SMART?” (SMART is an acronym for Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic and Time-related.)
“You’re a life coach who wants to help me have my best year yet. Help me figure out some goals for 2025. Ask me questions one at a time to help me decide what to focus on.”
“My goal is [fill in the blank]. What are some obstacles that might come up and ways I can overcome them? Give me specific examples for each obstacle.”
“I want to [fill in the blank], but it feels overwhelming, and I don’t know where to start. Can you help me by breaking it down into more manageable tasks?”

⭐ AI isn’t going anywhere: Instead of sticking your head in the sand, make this the year you embrace AI. You’ll get daily tips here in this newsletter and, coming soon, my AI 101 guide for total newbies.

In the meantime, give this list of AI trends for 2025 a read and grab NetSuite’s free knowledge drop, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.”* You’ll sound smart (and know what you’re talking about!) when it comes up in conversation.

🦆 Duck off: Tell that to your AI chatbot collecting data. Duck.ai is out of beta and lets you chat anonymously, for free, with no account required. You can use GPT-4o mini, o3-mini, Meta Llama 3.3, Mistral Small 3 and Claude 3 Haiku without worrying about your data being collected. Chats are fully anonymized, meaning they’ll never be used for AI training. Try it out.

Up to $65 an hour

Wage for remote AI trainers. Can you code, research and write? Fact-checking AI data might be up your alley. Perfect for introverts, even if the repetitive tasks are “mind-numbing.” Links here if you want an AI gig.

Feeling left behind? Download NetSuite’s free knowledge drop, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.” No matter what you do, you should know more about AI. It’s not going anywhere.

AI how-to: 10 prompts to try with ChatGPT or your favorite bot

Twenty-five-odd years ago, CBS and ABC execs told me tech was just a fad and passed on my national radio show. So, I syndicated it myself. The rest is history.

Now, I hear the same thing about AI: It’s a phase, and it won’t last. Hate to break it to you, but AI is here to stay, and it’s already changing everything. Start using it now or risk getting left behind.

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DeepSeek told me some weird things

chat.deepseek.com

DeepSeek, the blockbuster AI chatbot from Communist China, told me that 95% of global internet traffic flows through undersea cables. That wasn’t surprising, but what came next was:

This is from the state-approved chatbot that’s gone viral for blocking anything Communist China deems inappropriate.

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Swinging into AI: Intel released AI Playground, a free tool to make images, upscale photos and answer questions with a chatbot. The catch? It only works on Intel’s latest Core Ultra processors. Check it out here.

Find an AI tool: OpenTools has over 10,000 tools for AI assistants, editing, travel and more. Its visitors and AI consultant Mackenzie Ferguson curate and rank the tools. There are filters for free options, too. No cost to use it, but extra features like AI workflows are $20 a month.

Use Google Docs at work? You may have the Gemini AI bot to help write. Hover over the star icon next to your pic that says Ask Gemini. Click on it to open a sidebar with the writing tools. Choose options like Refine or Rephrase this document, or type in your ideas at the bottom.

🔎 Need to fact-check something? AI makes stuff up, but it can be good at verifying info, too. On ChatGPT, ask the bot to “search the web and provide sources” to see if your info checks out. Click those links to make sure these are sites you trust.

Get the $200/month ChatGPT subscription for free: Just for my Windows friends. Open the Copilot app on Windows or go to copilot.microsoft.com and sign in with your Microsoft account. Make sure Think Deeper is toggled on to use OpenAI’s fancy-schmancy new o1 model. It “thinks” for about 30 seconds before spitting out an answer.

🤑 Outsmart your rivals: Try this AI prompt to stay ahead in your industry. Ask ChatGPT or any bot, “Analyze my competitors in [industry] and give me three strategies to stand out.” Super smart!

Deep dive: OpenAI’s Deep research is ready to go for Plus, Team, Enterprise and Edu subscribers. You’ll get 10 deep research queries per month that pulled detailed info from multiple sources. Try it: Select Deep research in the Composer.

Echowriting: That’s teaching AI to sound like you. Feed in a piece of writing (an email, a blog post, a text, whatever) and say, “This is my writing. I want you to analyze it, so you can sound more like me in the future.”

“Find the weaknesses in your last response”: Try that next time you’re feeling iffy about an AI chatbot’s response. It’ll reanalyze and look for any major holes or biases. Finish up with, “Try again, but this time …” based on whatever it told you.

Be the smart one at work: Download NetSuite’s free knowledge e-book, “The CFO’s Guide to AI and Machine Learning.” No matter what you do, you should know more about AI. It’s not going anywhere.

Try again: If ChatGPT totally swings and misses responding to your question, give it another go with a model that “thinks” differently. Click the switch icon. GPT-4o is my go to, even though o3-mini is newer.

Looking for a job? How to get past ATS and hiring AI

I was talking with Joey, our new podcast producer, and he mentioned the tricks I pass along to get past the AI-powered applicant tracking systems (ATS) help a ton of people.

Humans no longer filter resumes at most companies. It’s inefficient when AI can review over 100 resumes per minute.

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