2025 AI Tips and Power Tools; Google Gemini — 5 tips to get better results with your prompts

 27th April, 2025:  Auckland, New Zealand

Source of Article: Tom's Guide

Take your Gemini prompts to the next level

To get the best results from Google Gemini, focus on writing clear, specific, and conversational prompts. Provide context, use natural language, and break down complex tasks into smaller prompts. Imagine you're speaking with a helpful colleague, and aim to be as detailed and precise as possible. 

Here's a more detailed breakdown:

Be Specific and Clear:

Avoid vague language and use action verbs (like "write," "summarize," "create") to guide Gemini. 

Provide Context:

Explain your goal, your level of expertise, and any relevant details about the task. 

Break Down Complex Tasks:

If you have a complex problem, try to break it into smaller, more manageable prompts to help Gemini focus. 

Use Natural Language:

Write prompts as if you were speaking to a person, using complete sentences and avoiding jargon. 

Iterate and Experiment:

Don't be afraid to refine your prompts if you're not getting the desired results. Try rephrasing, using different keywords, or adjusting the level of detail. 

Consider Different Roles:

Experiment with asking Gemini to act in different roles (e.g., colleague, teacher) to see how it affects the output. 

Use "Make this a power prompt":

In the Gemini app, start your prompts with "Make this a power prompt: [original prompt text here]" to get suggestions on how to improve it. 

Utilize follow-up questions:

If you're not happy with the initial response, ask follow-up questions to refine the output. 

By following these tips, you can create prompts that effectively guide Gemini and help you get the most accurate and helpful responses. 

In the growing world of AI assistants, Google Gemini stands out as a powerful tool with seriously vast capabilities. You might have heard it can do some pretty impressive stuff, like summarizing your favorite YouTube video, or even creating a custom playlist depending on your mood. It can even help you outsmart airline pricing by finding the cheapest flights. 

But here's the thing: getting Gemini to perform these tasks effectively isn't always straightforward. It's all about how you ask. If you've ever felt like you're not quite speaking Gemini's language, you're not alone — I've been in that boat plenty of times. Like many, I've had my fair share of head-scratching moments when an AI's responses have missed the mark completely. 

That's where crafting the right prompts comes in. In this guide, we'll break down the art of asking Gemini the right questions, helping you unlock its capabilities and get the results you're after. Let's get started!

1. Frame your query with context

Start by approaching Gemini as if you're chatting with a knowledgeable friend. When crafting your prompt, its really important to use complete sentences instead of just keywords. 

For example, if you typed "email writing tips" you'd receive useful general advice on writing clear, concise, and effective emails. However, this advice would be generic and not tailored to your specific situation. 

Instead, try something like: "I need to write an important email to my boss about a project delay. Can you gi

This approach provides context, allowing Gemini to offer more personalized guidance and in this case, a template to work from.

2. Explain your goal

Clarify why you're seeking information or assistance. This helps Gemini understand your ultimate objective. Even when asking a straightforard question, you'll get more out of Gemini if you clearly explain what you're after.

For instance, instead of asking "How to create a spreadsheet?", try: "I need to create a monthly budget spreadsheet to track my personal expenses and savings goals. Can you guide me through setting this up in Google Sheets, including suggested categories and formulas?" 

3. Request step-by-step instructions

When you need help with a process, ask Gemini to break it down into clear steps. This approach ensures you receive comprehensive, easy-to-follow instructions every time.

For example, rather than asking "How to change a tire?", say: "Can you provide a detailed, step-by-step guide on how to change a flat tire on a standard passenger car? 

4. Indicate your familiarity

When writing prompts in Gemini, you should always fill the AI in on how much you understand about the subject. Doing this from the get-go helps the Gemini explain things at the right level for you. 

For example, instead of asking 'How does photosynthesis work?", you could say: "I have a basic understanding of photosynthesis from high school biology. Can you explain it in a bit more depth? This way, Gemini knows to skip the basics and dive into more detailed information without getting too technical. 

On the other hand, if you're completely new to a topic, don't be afraid to say so. You might ask: "I've never understood how the stock market works. Can you explain it to me as if I'm a complete beginner?" This ensures you get an explanation that starts from square one.

5. Mention specific tools or platforms

When your query involves particular software, devices or apps that you use daily, include these details. For instance, instead of asking Gemini:"How do I organize my email?", try: "Can you give me tips on how to use labels and filters in Gmail to organize my work emails more efficiently?"

Or, if you're an iPhone user, you might ask, "What are some hidden features in the latest iOS 18 update for iPhone 16 that can help me be more productive?" By specifying the exact tools you're using, you'll get more practical and relevant advice that you can apply right away.

Bonus tip: keep it concise!

While detail is important, try to keep your prompts under 4,000 characters. Focus on including relevant information without unnecessary elaboration. 

Remember, a well-structured, concise prompt often leads to more focused and useful responses from Gemini. Happy prompting! 

2025 AI Tools and Tips: I test ChatGPT for a living — 7 secrets to instantly up your prompt game

 27th April, 2025:  Auckland, New Zealand

Source of Article: Tom's Guide

There's bad prompts, and then there's good prompts

If you’ve ever typed a question into ChatGPT and thought, “Huh. That’s not exactly what I wanted…” don't worry, you’re not alone.

The truth is, most people are only scratching the surface of what AI chatbots can really do. But as someone who prompts AI professionally, I can tell you the difference between a good result and a great one often comes down to the way you ask.

Below are some of the best-kept secrets that prompt engineers like myself use to unlock more helpful, creative, and accurate responses from ChatGPT and other chatbots.

1. Give ChatGPT a role

Known as role prompting, this technique works like a charm for things such as writing, brainstorming, or even asking for professional advice.

By assigning the AI an identity or job title, you prime it to respond with more confidence, structure, and relevance.

Instead of the prompt: “Tell me about marketing.”

Try this prompt: “You are a world-class marketing strategist. What are three clever ways a small business could grow on TikTok?”

By applying this technique to your queries, you will unlock greater potential within the chatbot to uncover better responses and more thorough answers.

2. Think step-by-step

This is called chain-of-thought prompting, and it’s especially powerful for multi-step tasks, logic puzzles, and tricky queries that require reasoning. You’ll often get more thorough — and more accurate — results by using a more sophisticated prompt because ChatGPT tends to give better answers when you guide its thinking process.

Instead of the prompt: “What’s the answer to this math problem?”

Try this prompt: “Let’s solve this step by step.”

3. Set clear constraints

By adding rules and context, you give the model boundaries to work within, which helps it stay focused. It’s like telling a designer your brand colors instead of saying, “make something cool.”

I have found that this trick is one that many casual users tend to break. They simply are not detailed enough with their request.

Just remember, the more specific your query, the better the output.

Instead of the prompt: “I need three subject lines for a Mother’s Day sale”

Try this prompt: “Give me three subject lines for a Mother’s Day sale — keep them under 50 characters and use playful language.”

4. Break big tasks into smaller prompts

If you’ve ever dumped a wall of text into ChatGPT, you know that it doesn’t exactly mean good results. In many cases, the chatbot might hallucinate because of information overload. That’s why I always break it up.

Prompt engineers guide the AI step by step like this:

1. “Summarize this blog post.”

2. “Now rewrite that summary in a more casual tone.”

3. “Now turn it into an Instagram caption.”

This gives you more control over the tone, accuracy, and final format and it makes the process feel more collaborative.

5. Show examples

If you want a specific tone or vibe, show the model what you’re looking for.

This is especially helpful with image generation. Known as few-shot prompting, when given extra context with an example, the AI will usually mirror the structure, tone, and rhythm surprisingly well.

Even without additional instructions, you'll find that the chatbot responds well.

For example: “Write a product description like this one: ‘These boots are made for adventure. Built tough, but cozy enough for your lazy Sunday scrolls.’ Now write one for a travel backpack.”

6. Don’t be afraid to iterate

As a prompt engineer, I often treat prompting like debugging code. The first result is rarely perfect.

However, even a tiny change, such as adjusting the role or tone can completely transform the output.

As a prompt engineer, my work typically looks like this:

• Run the prompt

• See what went wrong

• Change one variable

• Try again

7. Tell the chatbot how you want it to sound

Sometimes ChatGPT nails the content but totally misses the tone. That’s because it doesn’t know how you want it to sound — unless you say so. A simple fix? Just add a line about tone or style to your prompt.

Instead of the prompt: “Write a thank-you note.”

Try this prompt: “Write a thank-you note that’s warm and funny, like something you’d text a close friend.”

Want it to sound confident, professional, casual, flirty, dramatic, Gen Z, like Shakespeare? Just say the word. The more you tell it about the vibe you’re going for, the better your chances of getting the exact tone you want.

This also goes for if you're working with ChatGPT Pro tools or in the Playground, you can set a system message at the beginning of your session: “You are a professional copywriter who writes with humor and clarity for a Gen Z audience.”

That tone will stick through the whole session, keeping the responses consistent and on-brand.

2025 AI News Update: The Jobs That Will Fall First As AI Takes Over The Workplace

27th April, 2025:  Auckland, New Zealand
Source of Article:  Forbes

The Jobs That Will Fall First As AI Takes Over The Workplace

Artificial intelligence is advancing at breakneck speed. The big question is how long it will take until technology dominates the job market. You should start thinking about your own career. Will you be caught up in the change? With the U.S. navigating a $36 trillion debt, tariff tensions, and economic uncertainty, the specter of disruption from AI adds urgency for workers to protect themselves.

Artificial intelligence is expected to fundamentally transform the global workforce by 2050, according to reports from PwC, McKinsey, and the World Economic Forum. Estimates suggest that up to 60% of current jobs will require significant adaptation due to AI. Automation and intelligent systems will become an integral part of the workplace.

To remain competitive, invest in skills like critical thinking and digital fluency. Target AI-resilient sectors like healthcare or education. Advocate for retraining programs to reinvent your career.

As macro investor and founder of the Bridgewater hedge fund Ray Dalio warns, the economy’s future hinges on balancing AI’s power with human potential. He says those who prepare now will shape the world of tomorrow.

Things Are Changing Quickly

Estimates vary, but experts converge on a transformative window of 10 to 30 years for AI to reshape most jobs. A McKinsey report projects that by 2030, 30% of current U.S. jobs could be automated, with 60% significantly altered by AI tools. Goldman Sachs predicts up that to 50% of jobs could be fully automated by 2045, driven by generative AI and robotics.

Tech Update: Google explains how to use Veo 2 as Gemini's video generator reaches more users

Summary

Gemini's Veo 2 AI tool generates text-based short videos up to 8 seconds in length and at 720p resolution.

Google recommends including subject, action, scene, style details, and more for better Veo 2 videos.

Veo 2 is currently limited to paid Gemini users, with Google gradually rolling out the feature to all paid users.

Source of article:  Android Police

Google has been steadily improving Gemini's capabilities since its launch. The AI chatbot has evolved beyond simply answering questions, now offering features like Deep Research that crawls the web for detailed answers and also offers features like text-to-image generation. Earlier this month, Google also started rolling out Veo 2, its text-to-video generator for Gemini Advanced users.

The tool works exactly as it sounds. You enter a text prompt, and Gemini generates a short video based on the description. Currently, videos are limited to eight seconds in length and 720p resolution. Google has been expanding Veo 2's availability among Gemini Advanced subscribers recently, and now the company has shared tips how users can get the best results when creating videos.

Here's how to get started with Gemini's Veo 2 video tool

At its Gemini Day event in India today, Google officially showcased Veo 2 on stage. The company demonstrated how realistic the AI-generated videos can be — and honestly, it was hard to believe some of them were made entirely by AI. Alongside the showcase, Google shared a slide detailing the elements users should include in prompts to get the best results.

According to Google, you should specify the following in the text prompt when generating videos with Veo 2:

Subject: The main focus of the video

Action: What the subject is doing

Composition: How the scene is framed (wide shot, low-angle, aerial etc.)

Scene: The location of the shot (busy street, space, beach, etc.)

Camera motion: Whether the camera is panning or zooming

Ambiance: How color and light contribute to the scene (blue tones, night, foggy, etc.)

Style: The artistic style or vibe you want (cinematic, retro, cartoon, etc.)

Filling in these details should help you get a video much closer to what you imagined on the first try. Of course, if it does not turn out exactly how you want, you can always tweak the prompt and regenerate the video.

Google is still in the process of rolling out Veo 2 to all Gemini Advanced users. Personally, I don't see the option live yet on my Gemini web dashboard or app, but some of my colleagues have started seeing it on their devices.

Tech Update 2025: DJI Mini 5 leak suggests beginner drone could land soon with two big upgrades

DJI Mini 5 leak suggests beginner drone could land soon with two big upgrades 

April 27th, 2025:

A new DJI Mini 5 drone seems to be in the works....
(Click here for the source of article)

Online leaks suggest it could have LiDAR sensors

DJI appears to be testing the drone ahead of a summer launch

DJI isn’t one to rest on its laurels. The Mini 4 Pro might top the bill in our round-up of the best drones you can buy right now, but new images leaked online appear to show that the manufacturer is well underway with developing a successor.

The images, shared on DroneXL, appear to show the DJI Mini 5 being tested on public streets in China. Included in an article written by Jasper Ellens, a reliable drone industry source, the grainy shots feature a quadcopter resembling the Mini 4 Pro, albeit with a larger front camera lens and what appears to be a pair of LiDAR sensors above.

This backs up an earlier post from Ellens, shared on X in December 2024, which claims that the Mini 5 will feature LiDAR sensors and “stronger (vented) motors”.

Front-facing LiDAR sensors would give the new model a more effective collision avoidance system. As we saw on the Air 3S last year, LiDAR is better able to navigate obstacles and terrain at night, compared to standard vision tech. Their presence on the Mini 5 would be a first for any sub-250g drone, assuming that the rumored model stays within the same weight class as previous versions.

The pictured drone also has guards around its blades, although these could be in place as a safety measure during testing, rather than a permanent feature.

While DJI hasn’t officially announced a release date for the Mini 5, the appearance of a test unit in public suggests that the company is in the later stages of development. Some sources anticipate that the new drone will break cover in summer 2025. A reveal around August or September would fit with DJI’s established launch cycles, marking two years since the DJI Mini 4 Pro hit the market.

Other features remain the subject of much speculation. Some websites have reported that the DJI Mini 5 could feature a 1-inch sensor and a 50-minute flight time, both of which would be a significant step up from the 1/1.3-inch sensor and 34-minute flight time of the DJI Mini 4 Pro. That said, there’s little in the way of hard evidence to support these claims at present.

The Mini 5 isn’t the only upcoming DJI drone rumored to be getting LiDAR capabilities. Recent intel also suggests that the Mavic 4 Pro will benefit from enhanced obstacle-avoidance sensors. This could indicate that DJI has managed to developed a more compact LiDAR module that can be more easily packaged into drones across its range.

While its presence on a sub-250g would be a game-changer, whether LiDAR alone will warrant an upgrade for owners of the Mini 4 Pro remains to be seen. It would certainly be another feather in a well-strung bow, but LiDAR is of limited use to users who only fly their drones in open space on clear days.

Of course, it’s not the only rumored upgrade for the DJI Mini 5. Stronger or more efficient motors could give the drone improved performance in all conditions, while enhanced flight times would take the series meaningfully forward where the Mini 4 Pro didn’t. A 1-inch sensor also points towards clearer low-light imaging.