Part of the appeal of using artificial intelligence is the almost enticing prospect of being able to do what you set out to do correctly in record time. Example: Are you so unprepared for Mother's Day that you just Google searched for “Mother's Day 2024” and found this article? An unforgettable day for the mother who means the most to you Consider letting AI take away the pressure to personalize.
The woman I call Mama happens to live all the way across the country from me in a small town called Battle Creek, Michigan. She is also known as the birthplace of cornflakes. This is a beautiful little spot that was home to the original Kellogg factory, and local legend has it that after heavy rains, the air can smell like powdered sugar.
That's all this California native knows about Battle Creek, and even less about what a special Mother's Day will be like in the area.
Enter AI for comprehensive knowledge of everything there is to do in this small Michigan town and what a British woman recovering from shoulder surgery who loves rural markets, interior design, and architecture likes to do ( (preferably) with informed knowledge.
Because I'm not familiar with the area and because my mother-in-law's local family offered to take her to a restaurant that only served soup (yes, they were going to take her to a literal soup kitchen on Mother's Day) ), I was hoping that Google's Gemini tool (formerly Bard) would do the trick.
Gemini has had its share of issues (see CNET's hands-on review of Gemini, and other generative AI tools Claude, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot), but it has recently been updated to include Google Maps local information associated with pins and locations. , now integrated with other Google products. . It may also be integrated into the iPhone in the near future.
I thought this might work wonders for those planning celebrations from afar.
Gemini trying to plan local fun: Prompts
If you have an account associated with Google, working with Gemini is as easy as opening the tool in Chrome and typing your needs into the prompt field.
I'd like to be as specific as possible, but since I didn't have a lot of information about what Battle Creek has to offer, I'll focus on nearby events and locations, and learn more about who my mother is. gave you a rough idea. – About her in-laws and what she is into.
The chatbot noticed that she was an expatriate from the UK and guessed that she was craving the delights of her home country, so it immediately suggested breakfast in bed with kippers and baked beans. The first thing every mother wants to eat in the morning is aged spatchcocked fish and canned beans in tomato sauce.
Be more specific and reduce redundant expressions
Eating breakfast in bed is a great classic Mother's Day idea, but it has nothing to do with local specialties. I also forgot to tell the tool that her arm was in a sling, so she sent it to me in hopes that it would suggest a place to avoid a long bumpy car ride. We asked the tool to consider your recent surgery.
This is when the chatbot demonstrated its potential for integration with Google Maps and presented me with a variety of options specific to the Battle Creek area, in line with her preference for a cozy country life and British background. He showed me.
of seeds.
Some answers were clearly hallucinations. Gemini suggested a local bake shop called The Bake Shop on the Avenue, but after a quick Google search, the tool confused this non-existent bake shop with his The Cake House on His Avenue in Michigan. I found out that it may be. A newly installed cannabis dispensary specializing in sweet edibles.
My mother-in-law is a very hip woman, and taking her to the weed store on Mother's Day may be pushing that.
Take everything you've learned and try it one last time
After my Gemini suggested canned food and cannabis for Mother's Day (suddenly I thought soup wouldn't be so bad either), I took everything I'd learned and leaned towards local solutions, trying to figure out what kind of house my mother-in-law was in. I started a new prompt with extraneous details such as whether it is there or not. The law lives minimally. This adjustment gave me the best results so far and triggered the Google Maps extension.
Options like Clara's on the River and a local spa with a 5-star rating on Google Maps (with an optional CBD-enhancing massage available) were welcome suggestions and exactly what I was looking for. The map also outlines possible routes.
Should you leave the Mother's Day planning to a Gemini?
Use AI tools integrated into Google Maps to give you the brain power you need to plan a frivolous day like your favorite mom in a faraway place, especially if she lives in a big city. If you don't have one, it could save you a lot of time.
Something to be aware of is the hallucinations associated with generative AI. For example, making recommendations based on small pieces of information that may be outdated, or confusing large language models with no substance, making embarrassing assumptions about the details of specific newly legalized businesses. may cause. (For more tips and explanations to help you with this, check out CNET's AI Atlas resource page.)
Also note what your main goal is. If you're looking for a gift, check out CNET's top health and fitness gifts for Mother's Day or check out this list of last-minute gifts from experts who know the difference between a weed store and a bakery Please seek advice.
The goal in this case was to serve my mother-in-law something a little more exciting than soup (no offense to my father-in-law or brother-in-law), and the results fit the bill nicely.
Editor's note: CNET used an AI engine to create dozens of stories and label them accordingly. The notes you are reading are attached to articles that substantively cover the topic of AI, all written by professional editors and writers. Learn more about. AI policy.