The next time you receive a letter from the government, your bank, your insurer, or any organisation that loves long sentences and small print — try this before you call anyone or worry:
Copy the whole text, paste it into ChatGPT or Gemini, and type:
"Please explain what this letter is asking me to do, in plain English. What action (if any) do I need to take, and by when?"
That's it. In most cases you'll get a clear two-paragraph summary: here's what happened, here's what you need to do, here's the deadline.
This works equally well for rental agreements, medical reports, council notices, and T&Cs you'd normally skip entirely.
One thing to watch: AI won't know your personal circumstances. If the letter is about something serious — a legal dispute, a large sum of money, a health decision — use the summary to understand the basics, then confirm the key details with the relevant professional.
For most everyday letters, though, you'll have your answer in under a minute.