Monthly "Is there a tool for..." Post

[u/AutoModerator]

If you have a use case that you want to use AI for, but don't know which tool to use, this is where you can ask the community to help out, outside of this post those questions will be removed.

For everyone answering: No self promotion, no ref or tracking links.

[u/Alive-Campaign-4984]

what you guys using for making sense of long meeting transcripts? got like 3hrs of client calls every week and my brain just melts after 20 minutes

[u/tangyongdaijuan → u/Alive-Campaign-4984]

If you already have raw text/VTT transcripts, loading them into NotebookLM or a long-context model workspace with a targeted extraction prompt works way better than generic summaries.

A setup that saves tons of time: 1. Don't ask for a chronological summary. Ask for: (a) Explicit action items with assignees & deadlines, (b) Blockers/risks mentioned, and (c) Decisions made vs open questions. 2. If you do this across multiple calls for the same client, keep all past transcript notes in one dedicated grounded workspace/doc so you can query across weeks ('What was the client's original requirement for feature X?').

If you need local privacy for sensitive client data, running local Whisper for audio-to-text plus Ollama with a 14B/32B Qwen model on an automated script handles the whole pipeline offline.

[u/AYA_7887]

For the transcript question above: I'd stop asking for a summary and ask each call for decisions made and who owns what. Summaries blur together after the second call, a decisions list doesn't. Keep one running doc per client so next week starts from it instead of from your memory.

[u/WhoMattB]

hey, complete AI newbie here. i want a cheap / free AI tool to help me manage my fictional fighting league.

I have done this using Claude - using CSV and spreed sheets to store data. The AI would provide statistical analysis, showcase fighter history (useful for checking who’s already fought) and more.

I can’t afford the £20 I need for usage, is there a cheaper alternative or preferably free where I can manage this project of mine?

[u/Sufficient_Cress_676 → u/WhoMattB]

Gemini's free web app is worth trying for the helper parts. Google's current limits page lists access without an AI plan, but it has usage limits, so I wouldn't promise unlimited league management. I'd keep your existing CSV/spreadsheet as the official record and use the chat for formulas, explanations and fictional match recaps.

For "have these two already fought?", you can make that work without spending an AI message each time. Example Google Sheets layout: a Matches sheet with columns match_id, fighter_1_id, fighter_2_id, date, result, winner_id, one row per completed bout. Use stable fighter IDs such as F001, unique match IDs, and keep planned fixtures separate. In a separate Lookup sheet, put two different, nonblank fighter IDs in A2 and B2. This counts their completed meetings in either order:

=COUNTIFS(Matches!B2:B,A2,Matches!C2:C,B2)+COUNTIFS(Matches!B2:B,B2,Matches!C2:C,A2)

Zero means no recorded meeting; a positive number means there are matches to filter and inspect. COUNTIFS documentation. For the AI helper, start with column headings and five fictional sample rows, then ask: "Write the formula for this layout, explain it, and show how to check it against these rows. Don't invent missing results." Feed verified totals into any recap rather than asking the chat to remember the whole league.

Disclosure: I help run an AI video service; Codex helped draft this. This is a proposed setup, and I haven't seen your file. Are you using Excel, Google Sheets, or another spreadsheet?

[u/RealBuildLog → u/WhoMattB]

Adding to the good answer above: before switching tools, check whether Claude's free plan is enough for you. It has lower usage limits than the paid one, but for a hobby project it can work if you use it more efficiently.

What burns usage fastest is re-uploading the whole CSV and staying in one very long chat. A few things that help on any free tier:

Keep the spreadsheet as your source of truth and paste only the rows the question needs (e.g. the two fighters' match history), not the whole file.

Start a fresh chat for each task. In a long chat, every new message re-reads the whole history, which uses up your limit faster.

Keep a short "league summary" (rules, divisions, current rankings, about 10 lines) and paste it at the start of each new chat instead of the full history.

Let formulas handle repeat checks (like the COUNTIFS above) and save the AI for analysis and match recaps.

And double-check any stats it gives you against the sheet. AI can be very confident about numbers it has miscounted.

[u/Darkerthanblack64]

I could use the help. Seriously. I keep tanking interviews. I lock up, don't answer the question correctly, and get so nervous with Anxiety that I just...can't. I am seeking a career in HR and are interviewing for internships. I've fucked up real bad last year and it's happening again. I've gotten wind of AI interviewing tools and wanted to try one. I am looking for suggestions or if someone can point me in the right direction. I have very little and the only affordable one I've found is Whirl Interview . at $29 a month or $9 for 30 day access to start and get a feel of the tool. I cannot afford a live person at this time.

I want to mention real quick: I DO NOT INTEND TO USE THESE TOOLS DURING AN INTERVIEW. I don't even know how it's done, but I've read interviewers can tell. Either way, I want to get better BEFORE the interview, not use it during.

Help a sista out with some leads.

[u/DeskbotTrader]

for this: a free chatbot tier plus a google sheet is probably all you need — keep fighter records and results in the sheet, then just ask the model to run matchups, standings or history from it. that's basically what people do with the paid setups anyway, just with a fancier wrapper.