Set up the chat. Then give it one job.
These pages walk through a free account on ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok, and Perplexity, plus the first sitting with Codex, Cursor, and Claude Cowork. Screens were checked September 25, 2026. If a button moved, the sentence is wrong.
Chat
How to set up a free ChatGPT account
Open chatgpt.com and sign up with email, Google, Microsoft, or Apple. Free does not ask for a card. Checked September 25, 2026.
September 25, 2026
Chat
How to set up Gemini with a Google account
Gemini uses a Google account. Sign in at gemini.google.com so the chat is still there later. Checked September 25, 2026.
September 25, 2026
Chat
How to set up a Claude account
Create a Claude account at claude.ai with Google or email. The free plan is enough for a first chat. Checked September 25, 2026.
September 25, 2026
Chat
How to set up Microsoft Copilot
Sign in at copilot.com with a Microsoft account so the chats stay. The chat is free. Word and Excel are a separate add-on.
September 25, 2026
Chat
How to set up a Grok account
Sign up at grok.com. The account page offers X, email, Apple, Google, and GitHub. A saved chat means the account stuck.
September 25, 2026
Chat
How to set up Perplexity
Perplexity answers with sources. Sign in with Google, Apple, or email when you want the answer kept. Checked September 25, 2026.
September 25, 2026
Agent
Give an AI agent one job
Paste one bounded job into ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot. Read the result. Do not connect email until that result is right.
September 25, 2026
Agent
How to set up Codex in the ChatGPT app
Codex lives in the ChatGPT desktop app. Install it, sign in with a ChatGPT account, and start one chat on a folder you already have.
September 25, 2026
Agent
How to start Cursor and make one change
Install Cursor, open one folder, and ask it to explain that folder before it changes a file. Checked September 25, 2026.
September 25, 2026
Agent
How to start a task in Claude Cowork
Claude Cowork runs a task you describe, then waits while you read the approach. It is on paid Claude plans. Checked September 25, 2026.
September 25, 2026
Guides
Sift an inbox with an agent
How to let an agent sort email into three piles without letting it reply for you.
September 22, 2026
Guides
Set up your first agent
A short setup for one agent and one job. You stay in charge of every send.
September 15, 2026
Notes
Why most AI sits unused
A new chat window does not finish the admin. The work starts when one repeating job has a written instruction and a person still checks the result.
September 8, 2026
Get the next guide
Leave an email. The next setup guide goes there, with the same occasional notes from the homepage.
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