By Rihaab Mowlana

When ChatGPT first entered the chat, most people used it for pretty tame things: fixing emails, brainstorming Instagram captions, writing essays five minutes before the deadline. But that was then.

Now? It’s giving breakup coach, text therapist, frenemy translator, emotional damage control unit, and occasionally, financial advisor.

We asked our readers how they’re really using AI, and let’s just say… y’all are unwell, in the most creative ways possible. Here are some of the best (and borderline diabolical) things people confessed to.

“I use it to train my boyfriend.”

We’re not even joking.

“I gave ChatGPT a list of things I wish he did, more compliments, better communication, helping around the house, and asked it how to introduce those behaviours without making it a fight.”

ChatGPT suggested reward systems, positive reinforcement, and scripts. “It worked. He now thanks me for ‘guiding his growth.’ He has no idea.”

“I copy-paste texts and say: make me sound chill and unbothered.”

“I’ll be two minutes away from a full breakdown, but I don’t want him to know that. So I paste the message into ChatGPT and say, ‘Make it sound like I’m over it and thriving.’ Then I hit send, close the chat, and cry in peace.”

But it’s not just for romantic drama. People are out here using ChatGPT to professionally mask their unravelling, and survive corporate life without committing HR violations

“I use it for emails to my boss when I’m about to lose it,” one girl said. “Like I’ll write, ‘This is the third time I’m reminding you about this,’ but then ask ChatGPT to make it sound polite. It rewrites it as, ‘Just following up in case this got buried in your inbox’”

Another said, “When my lecturer gives vague feedback and I want to scream, I ask ChatGPT to help me say, ‘Would you mind clarifying your comments?’ instead of, ‘WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME??’”

And then there’s the coworker struggle.

“I literally write, ‘Hi, can you please do your actual job because I’m sick of covering for you,’ and then ask ChatGPT to soften it. It gives me stuff like, ‘Just a gentle reminder on the task we discussed, let me know if you need support!’ Which is code for: you’re incompetent, but I’m trying to stay employed.

Because nothing says emotional growth like letting a robot stop you from saying what you really mean in Outlook.

“I use it to win arguments with my boyfriend.”

One girl admitted she feeds the full context of a fight into ChatGPT, screenshots, voice note summaries, everything, and asks it how to explain her side in a way that makes her sound calm, reasonable, and emotionally intelligent but still obviously right.

“It’s like having a ghostwriter for my rage,” she said. “I’m crying on the bed but texting like I’ve been to therapy for five years.”

Another said, “I’ll write what I really want to say, then ask ChatGPT to tone it down just enough so it sounds mature but still makes him feel guilty. AI gets me.”

“I use it to plan my budget.”

Forget Excel.

“I typed in my salary, expenses, and impulse spending habits. Then I asked, ‘What’s the maximum I can spend to be happy this month, i.e., brunch, skincare, and unnecessary subscriptions?’”

Another said, “It guilt-tripped me into cancelling four delivery apps. I hated it. But now I have savings.”

“I use it to explain colour theory.”

“I told ChatGPT I wanted to start dressing better. It asked for my skin tone, undertones, style references and gave me a full breakdown of colours that would flatter me, including what not to wear. It’s giving stylist, but free.”

Another said: “I use it before I buy clothes online, I paste the colour names and ask if they’ll wash me out.”

Honestly, it’s a fab workaround for those of us who can’t afford to fly to Korea, get our seasonal colour analysis done by a woman in beige linen, and cry on TikTok about being a Deep Autumn.

“I planned my breakup timeline with ChatGPT.”

Yup. Someone really said, “I told it all the upcoming birthdays, holidays and big life events, and asked, ‘When would be the least traumatic time to end this?’”

Another asked ChatGPT to help them script their breakup speech “in a way that makes me sound loving, but like I’m doing them a favour.”

And my personal favourite? “I asked it to write a breakup text that references my spiritual journey and includes a quote from Rumi.”

“I trauma-dumped and asked it what to do with my life.”

Several people confessed to typing in their life story and essentially asking: Help?

One user said, “I told it about my job, my failed relationship, my anxiety, my birth chart, and my unfinished degree. It told me to consider therapy and a creative career path. I cried. Then I copied it into my Notes app.”

Another said, “It gave me a five-year plan, including self-care goals and a suggested morning routine. I haven’t done any of it, but I feel better knowing it exists.”

“I meal plan according to how mentally stable I feel.”

Forget boring macros. This is mood-based nutrition.

“If I’m spiralling, I tell ChatGPT: ‘Give me a meal plan for someone who is broke, tired, sad, but trying.’ It gives me easy, comforting recipes that don’t require emotional energy or five types of cheese.”

One person admitted to meal-planning for someone else. “I had a guy coming over and I wanted to seem effortless but impressive. I told ChatGPT, ‘Create a dinner plan that looks thoughtful but is low effort and doesn’t involve cleaning up a lot.’ He still thinks I’m a domestic goddess.”

“I wrote my Bumble bio with it, then asked it to rate me.”

This one was a little savage.

“I wrote my bio, then pasted it in and asked ChatGPT to give me feedback. It said I seemed ‘overly eager to appear cool and slightly insecure about my hobbies.’ Which was… confronting.”

They added, “But then it rewrote it for me, and now I’m getting better matches. So maybe it was right.”

“I asked ChatGPT if I’m the problem.”

Call it emotional outsourcing.

“I described a group fight in detail and asked, ‘Be honest, was I the toxic one here?’ It said everyone shared blame, but that I ‘escalated the situation unnecessarily.’ I was so offended. Then I realised it was right.”

Another said, “I treat it like a friend who doesn’t sugarcoat things. I get mad at it, but I always come back.”

“I asked it to analyse my blood test results.”

Medical professionals everywhere just winced.

“I got my blood work done, and instead of waiting for my doctor to explain it, I just asked ChatGPT. It gave me a full breakdown, possible causes, and lifestyle changes to try. Then I went to my doctor and pretended I just ‘Googled it.’”

One user admitted: “It told me I might have a vitamin deficiency.”

“I asked ChatGPT if my boyfriend was gaslighting me.”

You heard that right.

“I pasted in a conversation and asked ChatGPT, ‘Is this manipulative?’ It broke it down like a psych textbook.”

Another person said, “It confirmed he was deflecting, love-bombing, and avoiding accountability. I screenshotted the reply and sent that to him. He didn’t reply. Case closed.”

“I asked ChatGPT what cosmetic surgery would suit my face.”

Because, of course, someone did.

“I uploaded my facial features as a description and said: ‘If I wanted to enhance my face in a subtle, natural-looking way, what procedures should I consider?’ It gave me a full list, from buccal fat removal to a ‘tiny’ nose tip lift. I cried. Then I booked a consult. Then cried again because I’m too broke to afford that.”

Another person asked it to help them “build a face like my girl Bella Hadid, but within a budget.”

“I used it to write an apology text that sounds genuine but doesn’t admit fault.”

Because accountability is… negotiable.

“I said: ‘Write me a message that sounds like I care, that I’m sorry she’s upset, but also make it clear I didn’t do anything wrong.’ It was perfect. She said, ‘Thanks for apologising.’ I didn’t.”

Lowkey Unhinged. Highkey Useful.

Let the tech bros use AI to write code and disrupt industries. The rest of us? We’re using it to win fights, fake emotional growth, diagnose vitamin deficiencies, and write texts that say “I’m fine”, but in seven layers of passive aggression.

ChatGPT is no longer just a chatbot. It’s a therapist, stylist, ghostwriter, crisis PR team, part-time nutritionist, and full-time enabler.

So if your friend suddenly sounds wiser, your ex oddly self-aware, and your coworker just polite enough… It might not be growth. It’s ChatGPT. And honestly? We love that for you.